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We found 540 product mentions on r/loseit. We ranked the 1,789 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.

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Top comments that mention products on r/loseit:

u/davedawg2000 · 2 pointsr/loseit

Hey friend,

Reading posts like yours always strikes a chord with me -- once upon a time, I was a 17 y/o male weighing in at at least 220 pounds. (I say "at least" because I didn't weigh myself for at least two years after I saw that number back in 2007, and it's entirely possible that I gained more and was too afraid to acknowledge it). Being overweight my entire life, I never thought it would be possible for me to be at a weight that bears any semblance to fitness, but I tip the scales around 145 nowadays :)

I came to the realization that the reason for my weight gain and constant tiredness over the years was from lack of portion control and all the refined carbs I was eating (despite getting at least 7-8 hours of sleep every night). I just want to share what I've learned from LoseIt over the last year:

Weight loss is 80% diet, 20% exercise. In short, you can't out-train crappy nutrition. Even if you hit the gym fairly regularly, your results will be stunted by what you are fueling your body with. Start taking control over what you eat -- lean meats, eggs, fish, legumes, and VEGGIES should take priority.

If you feel like you're starving yourself, then you're doing it wrong. Diet-wise, lean protein and fiber are your best friends. You'll stay full and be more satisfied than if you ate a bunch of carbs and starch. Lean meats, eggs, nuts, lentils, greek yogurt, quinoa and veggies are staples in my kitchen now. Whatever it is you're eating, though, start logging it all. You're much less likely to want to gorge on a double-cheeseburger or hot fudge sundae if you force yourself to log it and watch it blow up your calorie numbers for the day. MyFitnessPal (website/smartphone app) is a great tool that takes almost all of the guesswork out of food journaling. Of course, you need to tell it how much food you're eating, so I highly recommend making a small but worthwhile investment in a digital kitchen scale and use it in conjunction with a tool like MyFitnessPal in order to provide you with the most accurate results and insight into your personal calorie consumption :D

In the first couple of weeks, you may find it difficult to wean yourself off of certain unhealthy foods that you may have grown accustomed to. Here are a few simple substitutions that you might be able to make to your daily meals:

Breakfast - Instead of cereal, have two eggs and fill the rest of your plate with steamed vegetables. Sprinkle a bit of cheese and salsa over the whole thing. The healthy fats and proteins from the eggs and cheese, coupled with the fiber of the vegetables will keep you full and happy all morning.

Lunch - A better alternative to sandwiches is just to try taking what you would normally make a sandwich with and put it on a salad instead. A big spinach salad with turkey breast or tuna on it saves you a great deal of unnecessary carbs. When it doubt, wrap it in lettuce.

Dinner - Try switching up the traditional "meat & potatoes" meals. The meat can stay, but try giving mashed cauliflower a try. When made properly, it tastes just like the real thing :D

If you are constantly hungry, you may not be getting enough protein, fiber, or healthy fats to keep you satiated -- this ultimately causes that uncontrollable urge to snack. Make sure you're eating a fair amount of lean meats, leafy greens, nuts/legumes. Once you start filling your stomach with things that are satiating, you'll probably find that the urge to snack will subside considerably. In absence of that, try keeping some healthier snacks around the house if possible -- I buy 5-pound bags of baby carrots to munch on constantly :)

In terms of drinks, you should be limited to water, tea, black coffee, and milk. No soda -- even diet. If you're used to drinking soda or other sweet drinks and find that the sweetness is a difficult thing to give up, try cutting up some citrus fruits and putting letting them steep in a pitcher of ice water. The refreshing hint of sweetness is usually enough to satiate your cravings! It also helps you to meet your daily water intake goals, which should be at least 72 oz. per day -- it's very common for the body to misinterpret thirst as hunger. You'll also find that staying hydrated will give you more energy to work out / study, etc.

If you find that you want to make your own meals, nothing is easier than getting a pack of boneless/skinless chicken breasts and brushing them down with a little bit of olive oil and herbs/spices and throwing those bad boys in the oven at 350 for about 30 minutes. Serve with a heaping helping of frozen vegetables, and you've got yourself a cheap, filling, nutritious meal :D

> how I should go about starting to run when I have no experience,

There is a great program out there called "Couch-to-5K". It's geared specifically toward beginning runners with no experience who eventually want to work their way up to being able to complete a 5K without stopping. It's very specific, gradual, interval-based training that many Redditors enjoy (so much so that they've created a subreddit just for the program!) Check out [r/c25k](http://www.reddit.com/r/c25k]!

While running and other cardio is decent for getting fit, I would advocate strength/weights/resistance training as soon as you think you're comfortable with it. The extra muscle you'll build not only helps you look better, but it will burn more fat/calories as it sits on your frame.

I've been using the program outlined in the book The New Rules of Lifting. It gives you detailed instructions, pictures, and a 52-week workout schedule. I started noticing amazing progress in both strength and appearance after about 2 weeks, and just began the fifth phase in the series. I've never felt better!

To help monitor your progress, continue to take photos of yourself in various poses and states of undress every few weeks or so -- you'll be happy later that you have them for reference. Because you look at your body every day, it's often difficult to notice small, incremental change. Having the "before" photos handy will definitely allow you to more easily see the progress you're making down the line. I would recommend an official weigh-in once or twice a week. Make sure it's under the same circumstances (first thing in the morning, in the buff, after you've expelled any waste, before a shower, and before you eat/drink anything).

I'm so proud of you for acknowledging that you want to make change and taking the first steps towards making that happen. It doesn't get any easier as time goes on. I went through all of high school obese, and all of college overweight. I always thought I was a reasonably happy person, but after graduating college, losing weight and looking back on the last 6 years of my life, I realized how unhappy I actually was and how much happier I probably would have been. After losing the weight and starting to see my body take on a shape I thought it would never have, I have such incredible confidence, happiness, and exuberance for life that I never imagined possible. I have no doubts that you could easily experience similar results if you stick with it :D

Like I mentioned before, getting healthy should be more like a marathon rather than a sprint -- you're in this for the long haul.

Please keep in touch and don't hesitate to reach out to me if you need any more advice -- diet/exercise tips, meal ideas, a crying shoulder, you name it. I wish for nothing more than to see you succeed.

“There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.”

~ Ernest Hemingway

So go forth and kick ass, friend :D

Cheers,

Dave

u/naveedx983 · 4 pointsr/loseit

If your gym had that machine where you grab the handles and it tells you a BF% number, I wouldn't put too much trust in that. Honestly 5'11" and 199 doesn't sound like you're in the high risk due to weight category, that being said, if you feel slim but fat, then the gym is a great place to fix that.

Just so you're aware of it /r/fitness is pretty awesome. They will pretty much universally tell you that as a beginner you should start at Starting Strength(SS), or StrongLifts5x5(SL). I will agree with this advice.

You'll get mixed reviews on personal trainers, I did 5 sessions with one a while back, here are some of my thoughts

  • Be prepared to do your homework, personal trainers are not nutrition scientists, they are not fitness scientists, they may have a certification that is not terribly difficult to acquire.
  • Every trainer should talk about diet, it generally plays a lot larger role in achieving (most) goals.
  • My training sessions left me pretty much immobile for a day - he worked the shit outta me.
  • Try and focus on learning a good routine and good form, and not just paying them to get through every workout, think "Teach a man to fish...",

    *I stopped getting training sessions because no matter how many times I told my trainer that I wanted to focus on compound barbell movements, and instilling good form, I some how ended doing weird, unstructured movements that were supposed to work my 'core'.

    On to your questions:

    1, Unless you have some fancy reputable trainer, I would not make all your diet decisions on their recommendations. The best thing I did for myself was educate myself to the best of my ability on diet and make eating choices based on that. I can share more but I don't want to get in to the keto vs paleo vs mediterranean vs CountCalLowFatBeMiserable.

    2, The programs I mentioned above are highly recommended by reddit's fitness communities, SS is based on a book, SL is based on a website and some shorter PDF style guidelines. I use SL because I like it's program, but SS has notably larger collection of good information on the actual workouts. Don't modify the program, stick to it and learn your forms.

    3, If you find the diet the best suits your body, and a fitness plan you enjoy and stick to, and push yourself and actually work at the gym... 9-12 months for 22lbs is probably enough time. Again a lot of it depends on your current health (how fat are you?).

    4, Surely he didn't mean 32,000 calories. My advice - don't worry about spacing out your meals or over calculating. As you're starting out, focus on making well informed choices that stick to your plan. You can't just wing it, you should definitely track what you eat, but if you make the right (for your body) changes, you should be able to find a rhythm where you eat when you're hungry, you stop when you're full, and you get healthier.

    If you can afford to or have the motivation to, you should get some starting numbers from a visit to the doctor, heart health profile and BF% info can be very useful in deciding what kind of things you should do.

    And Finally, I just want to say, educate yourself. I approached getting healthy in a similar way to how you did in your post, and getting 100 different opinions on what to eat what to do was absolutely confusing. When advice I was getting was too confusing, I tried to stick to what doctors recommended, which didn't help either. I read this book, and I'm not going to tell you to base your diet and fitness on this book by any means, but I encourage you to read it only to increase your skepticism of common wisdom.

    I'm not an expert, or a doctor, just a dude who learned how my body functions in a healthy way, and made changes to facilitate it, me getting healthy :)

    (Edited for formatting)
u/basil_is_cool · 1 pointr/loseit

Glad I can help! Feel free to PM me for rants, encouragement, or general stuff too (:

People will laugh or think you're crazy, but you can turn around and say, "Yeah but do you know how much a proper serving of rice is?" Most don't. It's crazy when you really measure.

https://tdeecalculator.net/ This is a decent starting point, and go with sedentary as your activity level then add back your workout calories instead. The macros it provides are pretty good (:

Chicken is one of my favorites as it super easy to prep. Turkey is more for lunch meat type of stuff which I like to snack on sometimes (:

With fish, I'm a huge fan of white fish so cod is one I like a lot. I used to eat a lot more salmon, but it's harder to find well sourced salmon where I'm at, so I stick to cod if I want it or crave it, but otherwise I'm eating mainly chicken, top sirloin (choice grade, it's leaner, but I try to get grass-fed, this is beef, btw), or sometimes pork chops too.

As for protein shakes, I do drink one (Gold Standard Whey, https://www.amazon.com/OPTIMUM-NUTRITION-STANDARD-Protein-Chocolate/dp/B000QSNYGI?th=1, it is AMAZING and tastes like hot chocolate. Plus it's one of the highest rated out there). I drink it after my workouts normally. If I eat enough protein during the day, I'll cut it down to a half serving instead (:

Also on the topic of measuring food, I usually will weigh my meat before I cook it, but I sometimes forget to, and I'll just weigh it cooked. On MyFitnessPal, there are choices for uncooked vs cooked, so keep an eye out for things like that.

Little steps are going to take you super far (: I'm right there with ya!

u/SzStarsEatArt · 2 pointsr/loseit

You're overwhelming yourself before you even start, and that's a good way to crash and burn!

Let's go one thing at a time:

Finding a physician without insurance. If you're in the US... good luck with that. You can get some basic info from a FastMed, and they might be able to make a referral from there.

Mental health help can be found at r/BingeEatingDisorder/ or any number of similar subs. R/proED is very active, but tends to cater more to people who WANT to continue their eating disorders.

I strongly recommend against surgery. For one, it's expensive. More to the point, it's not entirely effective. You could lose all the weight and gain it right back, doing all kinds of damage in the process if you don't learn healthy habits along the way.


<br />
Calories. You are going to have to eat fewer of them, and there are LOTS of ways to do that. Whether you count them or not is up to you. Some people find that it helps, but for others it is a complete waste of time. You can get a free MyFitnessPal account if you want to try. You will, however, need to also purchase a food scale, and get in the habit of measuring every single thing you eat.<br />
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It sounds like you were doing great on a plant based diet. My husband and I enjoy Mediterranean food. It's plant based, and we get a satisfying amount of healthy fats to keep those junk food cravings at bay. <br />
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The seated exercises you were doing are a GREAT place to start. I've always been a walker, but my husband thought he would never be able to due to problems like yours. His legs and feet hurt, and he hardly tried. We found a series of three Kim Lyons DVDs that started out with seated exercises and graduated into walking exercises. <br />
<br />
Another thing that was helpful for him was a [pedaler](https://www.amazon.com/DeskCycle-Exercise-Pedal-Exerciser-White/dp/B00B1VDNQA). (Not that exact one, but something like it.) He would do 10 minutes a night, every night, no matter what. It hurt at first, and he couldn't get his toes all the way down on the pedals. Within a couple of weeks, he no longer had tight ankles. Now he is able to walk a mile with me every night. Soon, he will be able to join me for the full 3-5. BABY STEPS! You do what you need to do, at the pace you need. If it hurts, you're not going to keep doing it. <br />
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They no longer carry it, but [this bra](https://www.danskin.com/p/DN4448/2-pack-seamless-sports-bra.html) is pretty similar to the one I use. I'm also unsure of my proper size, and probably won't bother measuring until I am a lot closer to my goal weight. If you try anything high impact, you'll be slapping yourself in the face with your tits, but it's fine for walking. If you are comfortable with the idea of a stranger touching you, you could get measured in a [Lane Bryant store](https://www.lanebryant.com/cacique-intimates/bras/sports-bras/P-10832) for one of their bras. Had it done once when I was much younger. I imagine they still do it now.<br />
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If your boyfriend's shorts chafe you, just wear pajama pants or sweats. I walk in my regular old jeans when I go out. If I am exercising indoors, I just wear a tee shirt and panties. :-P Again - if it's causing you discomfort, you probably won't stick with it. Make the outfit as comfortable as possible, so you can focus on the exercise itself.<br />
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Lots of people will say Intermittent fasting is great. I'd argue against it. It's a disordered behavior that anorexics have engaged in for centuries that has somehow become socially acceptable in the last decade or so. If you are trying to free yourself from disordered eating behaviors, this is not a habit you should pick up.<br />
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Joining a gym is entirely optional. If you have the money for it, and feel like a personal trainer would help you learn how to exercise properly, then go for it. My experience as an obese person at the gym was absolutely dreadful. (Bullied daily by a trainer after declining his services until I could no longer bear to step foot in the gym.) Walking is free, and so is r/bodyweightfitness if you want to add in some strength training. <br />
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br />
<br />
Ultimately, I would say the best thing you can do right now is to start with what worked for you before. Figure out what you struggled with the most, and tackle one problem at a time. <br />
<br />
You don't have to run a marathon tomorrow, and you certainly don't need to starve yourself. You don't have to lose 100 pounds by February. <br />
<br />
You do need to make changes that you can sustain for the rest of your life. This sub is a great way to learn more about those changes. Just remember that what works for someone else may not be what works for you, and that is perfectly okay. There's no magic bullet, and everyone is different.<br />
<br />
You're headed in the right direction! You can do this!
u/K_Murphy · 12 pointsr/loseit

When I'm overwhelmed I find it best to break up a big task and do small things one at a time. These are a lot of valid questions, but some of them you might not need to worry about just yet. Maybe some steps like this will help:



  1. Have you read the Quick Start Guide and FAQs the AutoModerator commented? If not, do that first.




  2. Once done, figure out how you're going to count calories, because yes, it would be best to do that. Will you keep a pen and paper journal? Most of us use the MyFitnessPal app on our phones (also good on desktop), but there are other apps like LoseIt (not affiliated with this sub) that people like.




  3. Download that app/buy that special notebook and pen. When you set up your app, it will likely ask you how much weight you want to lose per week. If you want to jump ahead and put in 0.5-2 lbs per week that's up to you, but I wouldn't recommend it just yet; just say you want to maintain right now. By now you've read the Quick Start Guide and FAQs and you have an idea that to lose weight, the basic thing is to eat less calories than you burn. It'll be best if you count those calories.




  4. Buy a food scale to help you with this logging. It's so much easier than estimating; we often estimate wrongly and way too little.You need one that has a Tare function and can measure in imperial and metric. They're not expensive; something like this is just fine.




  5. No need to change your eating just yet. Just start logging everything that goes into your mouth. Don't forget sauces, cooking oils, drinks, etc. This will help you learn your app and give you an idea of what you are currently eating. It will also help you learn about logging, weighing food, etc. in general before you have to focus on any other major changes.




  6. After a week or two of this, then start slowly working your way down to your deficit amount. It's not recommended that women ever eat less than 1200 calories a day unless under doctor's orders, because that's usually the minimum needed to meet your nutritional needs (1500 for men). If you decide you want to eat at 1500 calories/day for now (just as an example), you can either jump straight in to that amount or start working your way down, cutting 100-200 calories per day at a time at a pace that you think is sustainable.



    You do not need to cut out things like fast food, chocolate, homemade meals, etc., cold turkey unless you really want to. I haven't, though. I still eat sushi, pizza, sub sandwiches, etc., just not nearly as often and most of the time I make it fit into my 1500 calorie/day budget. You just need to make sure you're logging everything accurately (most calorie apps have a recipe function that helps you with homemade food). And then most of the time you make it so that those foods do not put you over your calorie allotment for the day by making your other meals smaller, or something like that.



    Cheat days help some, hinder others. The thing you need to remember is that this is a process, there is sometimes experimentation. You can try cheat days or meals; if you find they're not working for you for some reason, don't have them as often or at all. There is not a deadline, so if something sets you back a little that's okay, you can just get back on track and adjust.



    Take a deep breath! You can do this! Post in the daily Q&amp;A threads if you have any questions! And don't forget to celebrate your victories in the SV/NSV daily thread. We are here to help!
u/parkerflyguy · 10 pointsr/loseit

I've lost 140lbs This year, about 1/3 of my body weight, and there's no secret. Just hard work and discipline. But there are a few things that I personally could not have done without.

Calories in/calories out is KEY. Be vigilant and over estimate when you can't weigh or have to guess on a food input. I use MyFitnessPal to track calories in and a Fitbit to track calories out.

I started just walking my dog for about 30 minutes. I found as it got easier and enjoyable I worked my way up to running. I found that using my Fitbit to measure I would burn almost the same calories (under 200 calories difference) walking or running the same distance walking just takes longer. I went from barely being able to walk a quarter mile without my back hurting or having to rest to running a 5k every day.

My fitbit: https://www.fitbit.com/shop/blaze I love gadgets so of course it was a new toy for me but getting a more accurate count of the calories burned throughout the day is key. Plus, it's very motivational when i'm close to my goal for the day or a new record of steps or calories burned for the day.

Shoes: http://www.dsw.com/shoe/new+balance+410+v4+trail+running+shoe+-+mens?prodId=324685 super comfortable lets me run as long as my body will allow

headphones: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0132YHU0I/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;psc=1 Cheap, but they work AMAZING. I specifically chose this model so that they could not fall out while running.

phone case(?) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JF9DU4U/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;psc=1 I dont like the idea of an arm band. having something clunky on my arm would be distracting. This thing keeps my keys and phone snug to my body so nothing is shaking around. Again it's about minimizing distractions while running.

Food Scale: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004164SRA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;psc=1 Keeping an accurate calorie count is key and this battery operated scale is perfect. I like that it can handle up to 10lbs and is pretty accurate with smaller increments as well.

Meal prep: https://www.amazon.com/Glad-Food-Storage-Containers-Entree/dp/B0014D0SWW/ref=sr_1_cc_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1468187303&amp;amp;sr=1-1-catcorr&amp;amp;keywords=glad+containers These guys keep me on my diet. one day a week i make a ton of meals and these are the perfect size that they let me fill them and when im done eating I feel full. I eat all my meals at home and work, out of these to prevent me from over eating.

I use my slow cooker to cook my meat (usually chicken) and a rice cooker to cook a bunch of brown rice. My meals are usually 1 cup rice, 4oz chicken, an apple, and 3 oz carrots for lunch and dinner and a half cup of fiber one and 1 cup almond milk for breakfast. From there I just change the type of meat and fruits and veggies from week to week to keep from getting bored.

This sub also keeps me motivated!

Hope this helps! Good luck.

u/GodlessGravy · 2 pointsr/loseit

&gt; So, to start off, I downloaded MyFitnessPal.

Excellent! I like MFP, it's working well for me even with its quirks.

&gt; it's been awhile since I've had access to a good scale for people of my weight

You are going to need some way to measure your progress, eventually! I had a poke about amazon and they're not hugely expensive:

eatsmart scale

this one measures %bodyfat and is on sale!

%bodyfat information is hugely valuable for accurately tracking your progress and adjusting your diet.


&gt; Excersizing has always been hard for me, I have severely flat feet, even my specially made inserts don't do much to prevent masshive pain if I'm on my feet too long

Stationary bike is your friend!

If you can, start walking second daily/daily for 10-30 minutes.

&gt; It asked how much weight I wanted to lose a week, it recommended 1 pound. Is going with 2 pounds a week that big a deal? Do you think it'll be harder?

If you are 5'10" and 360lb+, you should eventually aim for 2lb/week. You may want to start at 1 pound a week to see what it feels like though.

&gt; White bread, frozen things such as chicken tenders, sandwhich meat, cheese, baked chicken, hamburgers.. I used to eat other less healthy things but I've cut a lot of food out due to my chronic acid reflux, I eat a lot of bread and drink a lot of milk because they're relatively safe for me. I also tend to drink two cans of pop a day, though I'm going to try cutting those out.

You can eat, what you can eat. That said, as you lose weight, your reflux may improve.

If you are having trouble working out what to eat, just start with what you already eat, but control the quantities with calorie counting. You will want to do a few initial days of just counting what your current intake level is, so you can slowly lower your intake.

The easiest way to generate meals is to start with some good lean protein, then add some vegetables to that, and some flavouring, but don't forget that sauces count as calories!

Frozen food has the useful benefit of having very detailed nutritional information on the side of the box, and snap frozen vegetables have high nutrient value.

&gt; How do you guys go about snacks? I usually eat something, be it some chips or something microwavable every few hours.

Chips are generally not great, but if you need them, count their calories into your budget. There's definitely a range of microwave foods out there with decent nutritional value (good amount of protein and essential fats).

&gt; Also, what do you do at night when you're trying to sleep but it feels like you're starving?

When you get your eating right, this may be less of a problem. The right balance of proteins and fat help with satiety, whereas not having enough of those in your dinner meal may leave you hungry as you go to sleep.

&gt; it says that I should consume no more than 2290 calories a day. I've used other calculators online though and have seen anything from 2600-2900 calories a day.

You probably have relatively little muscle mass because of your issues with your flatfeet. The main determinant of how many calories you should have is muscle mass. (%bodyfat measurements will let you determine this far more accurately though).

2300 calories per day is probably a good eventual target. However, first you need to measure how much you are currently eating, then work down from there.

&gt; a bit of weight training.

I would suggest with working towards bodyweight squats and lunges. You may or may not be able to do a full movement with your current size, but a few partial squats are safe and will start conditioning your knees and muscles.

Also, try to get your hands on some cheap dumbbells and learning what movements you can do at home. You don't need the gym to lift weight!

Overall it sounds like you have a good attitude and an openness to learning. With patience, time and the right feedback, you can definitely achieve not only your temporary goals, but more than you thought possible!

u/[deleted] · 2 pointsr/loseit

I too started losing recently (on my way down from 6'3" 313 to 270 now) Here are some things that are helping me:

I started doing a healthier/vegetarian rendition on this:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/slow-cooker-chicken-tortilla-soup/detail.aspx

Plenty of leftovers too, so you won't have too cook for a while. Take leftovers of healthy meals as portable foods. As far as snacks go: 100 cal popcorn packs and almonds are favorites of mine. They have different flavored almonds in most supermarkets as well (wasabi soy are my favs) Also, fresh fruits and veggies cut up and in individual portion are great for quick on the go snacks. FiberOne bars are great and relatively healthy as well.

You can get an electronic scale at any big box store (e.g. target/walmart)

I also picked up a body fat calculator and a fabric measuring tape, which is a great way to track your progress. Sometimes your weight won't drop, but the inches and body fat percentage will:
http://www.amazon.com/Omron-HBF-306C-Loss-Monitor-Black/dp/B000FYZMYK

I just graduated with a degree in engineering (and started in grad school) so i'm a HUGE numbers geek. I chart all of my progress, whether it is good or bad in a spreadsheet. I plot all of my numbers, by date, against a trend line (such as a weightloss goal of 2-3 lbs/week). I feel like it makes a huge difference in your outlook on things. Eventually you will get to the point where you are trying to get below that expected progress line. And whenever you are feeling like you have plateaued, just go to the progress and see how many inches/lbs you have lost.

Also, take pictures of yourself before you start. You don't have to show them to anyone or post them anywhere if you dont want to, but in 3-6 months when you have lost weight but you dont think you look any different, take more pictures and compare. Trust me, you wont regret it, and you will always have a reminder of where you started and where you don't want to be again.

Exercise: check out r/fitness and I would recommend a c25k or c210k program if you are interested in running.

Advice: Don't give up! Everyday that you make an effort to be healthier is a step in the right direction.

Also, if you need help with the spreadsheet, I can send you a template...

Good luck!

u/funchords · 5 pointsr/loseit

It sounds like a great plan!

&gt; Advice from current college students as far as eating habits/ how to deal with the eating barriers that come with being a college student are especially appreciated!

How to estimate your food when you're eating at school ... https://www.reddit.com/r/loseit/comments/4wvryb/eating_in_the_cafeteriadining_hall_how_to_be/

&gt; I'm also considering buying a food scale

Yes, absolutely. The Ozeri Pronto Digital Multifunction Kitchen and Food Scale, Elegant Black is $6.95 on Amazon right now and a little more at Walmart and that's a great price and it's /r/loseit's favorite scale.

&gt; Any tips on how to fully utilize the loseit thread?

Read the sidebar. If you're on mobile, the sidebar might be called "subreddit info" or something. The Wiki here is fantastic. Check out the daily and weekly threads. Join the challenges. Note the daily stickies as they keep things interesting. Please upvote the most interesting posts and useful comments as they encourage the posters to keep posting.

&gt; Also, is it customary to post a starting picture?

No. But take one so that you have something to compare with from time to time. Also take your starting measurements for the same reason. You can post your progress here when you have progress to post.

Welcome!

^♂54 ^5'11^^/179㎝ ^SW:298℔^^/135㎏ ^CW:181℔^^/82㎏ ^[3Y&amp;nbsp;AMA], ^[1Y&amp;nbsp;recap] ^MFP+Walks🚶Hikes🏃C25K+TOPS

u/TheRealMattyPanda · 2 pointsr/loseit

There's people that say having a good amount of protein within 30 minutes of a workout helps with recovery, since right after a workout, apparently your body absorbs protein better. Protein powder is just a quick and easy way of getting this. There's also some people who say this isn't necessarily true, and overall protein intake matters more.

As far as types of protein, whey isolate is the most popular since it's the most efficient. By efficient, I mean that it's pretty much all protein, about 90%, and apparently is absorbed quickly. There's also whey concentrate, which is cheaper than whey isolate, but can have less protein and more carbs (from more lactose) per scoop.

The plant based proteins I'm not very familiar with, but through a quick search on Amazon, it looks like soy protein will have higher carbs than whey, and hemp has lower protein, but a good bit a fiber and healthy fats. If you're looking to just get protein, stick with whey unless you're vegan.

All in all, if you're getting the protein you need already, I wouldn't worry too much about a shake. But if you want to boost your protein, a post-workout shake won't hurt, and possibly might benefit you.

If you decide to use protein powders, this is the one I use. It's reviewed very well, has a good amount of protein (1 scoop is 120 cal, 3g carbs, 1g fat, 24g protein), and I think tastes pretty good. It comes out to about 78 cents per serving, so in my opinion, it's really not that expensive.

u/sacca7 · 1 pointr/loseit

Okay, I wouldn't say "Pro-tips" but what has worked for me (5'8", 49yo, now 146, down from 157 some months ago.) I am still going for another 10 down.

I couldn't do it without:

LoseIt.com Counts calories, nutritional intake (carbs, fat, protein), and does other stuff. The forums there can be good, and the friend you make there are great!

Exercise: I make sure I exercised vigorously (cardio and weights) at least 45 minutes a day, 5-6 days a week. The New Rules of Lifting for Women (one for men, there’s another for women-YAY) was essential to me, as was walking on an incline on the treadmill, biking inside and out, and circuit training. I found after exercise my appetite is balanced and diminished. It also definitely toned my bod!

Scale and Tape Measure. I weigh in about 2ce weekly and do measurements 1ce a month. Sometimes inches have been lost even though the scale hasn't budged.

Definitely very helpful:

Heart rate monitor: The most accurate way to measure calories burned is with one of these. I often up my workout based on my heart rate, otherwise I could settle into sloggin along. Lots of different types available at different prices.

Eating 3 meals and 3 snacks in between so I never get ravenous (usually).

High volume, low calorie foods: romain lettuce, shredded carrots, jicima, etc.

Most likely helpful but can't say for sure:

Fish oil supplements.

B-vitamins

Caffeine in moderate amounts

Cinnamon

What hasn't worked: Trying fad diets that revolve around high protein, primal, high fat, etc. I eat percentages about 20-60-20 (fat-carbs-protein). I think the high protein diets may be good for obese or overweight, but not for me already in a healthy weight range. It just makes me irritable.

Best!

u/Time_Bank · 2 pointsr/loseit

I use this calculator from the Mayo Clinic. According to that, if you are completely inactive 1600 calories a day will maintain your current weight. So if you consume, 1100 calories a day you will lose one pound per week (3500 calories per pound). You can eat a bit more and you'll simply lose weight at a slightly slower rate. Just never go above 1600 calories in a day.

Finding foods that taste good is key to success. I make a shake with the extreme milk chocolate flavor of this protein powder and soy milk. It is delicious. It literally tastes like a chocolate milkshake (as the Amazon reviews confirm), but is really good for you. Low calorie and high in protein. Another dish I make are these beans with garlic powder and other spices. Sometimes I add rice, but not too much (because rice are pure carbs). These beans are high in fiber and protein, so they are perfect. And the spices make the whole thing taste really good. The full receipe is here. The whole dish only costs $1.30 a meal and you can literally have all the ingredients shipped to your door from Amazon. Another tip is that if you drink, you can use the website Get Drunk Not Fat to make efficient choices about what you drink. :) Finally, be sure to take a multivitamin to make sure you get all the nutrients you need even though you have a calorie deficit.

Eat smart and the pounds will fly off in no time. I find the Hall of Fame to be really awesome motivation. With each pound you lose it will become easier to stay away from the bad stuff. Then once you are at your goal weight, you can start to eat more calories because then you just need to maintain. You don't have to be perfect, you just need to make smart choices overall. You can do it, I promise. :)

u/almostelm · 5 pointsr/loseit

It sounds like you're on the ball. The only thing I would recommend doing if you're really frustrated with the lack of progress would be to invest in a kitchen scale (this one is probably best for you in terms of your limited funds). You might be miscalculating how much you're eating which can be why you're stalled.

To calculate home cooked meals, I count the calories, by weight, of everything I put into a dish until I have the grand total for the whole thing. Then I divide the food into tupperware, by weight so everything is equal, and of course some for my plate for dinner that day. I take that grand total and divide it by the servings I've portioned out. It takes a little time, but usually the math is super easy as long as I have that grand total and number of equal serving sizes. I eat really well for two or three days on the leftovers, because I'll purposefully make extra and I know exactly how many calories are in each.

Honestly, just stay the course and if you're still not seeing results, consider getting the scale. It really helped me. Also, if you haven't already, take pictures of yourself and measurements. If you're not seeing the number on the scale go down, you may see results in the pictures or measurements! If you want you can friend me on MFP: Liluth. Good luck! I hope you start seeing results soon. It sounds like you're working really hard at it.

u/atheistarfroot · 3 pointsr/loseit

Hey there OP, you've already gotten a lot of great advice but I just wanted to say I'm sorry for what you've been through and there is truly always hope.

It sounds like you may be struggling with BED. Many of us have been through the same sorts of thing - I developed BED from being denied anything salty or sugary or delicious as a kid, so that when I DID get my hands on it I went nuts, and that continued into my adulthood. I had a lot of shame and guilt around anything that tasted good.

Binge eating disorder is real and is a fucking bitch to deal with. We feel ya.

I'd like to recommend not JUST focusing on your calories but also working to tackle your bingeing. Because even if you take the weight off, it can come back easily if you don't have some tools to help you with binge urges. I once lost over 100lbs in my teen years; and gained it all back because despite that I had NO coping mechanisms to use when I had binge urges.

I've been successfully treating my BED with concepts from the book Brain Over Binge. My bingeing is a lot less frequent and much more under control now, even when I do binge, its usually not that bad. I also used the website Rational Recovery, and replaced the words "alcohol" with "food" and "drinking" with "bingeing." I realized I was/am addicted to food, and it can be helpful to read and research things involving addiction. Some concepts that have helped people quit smoking, drugs, or drinking, can also help with food addiction.

Here is the Amazon link to the book

Here is the website to Rational Recovery

Here are some Youtube videos that might help

Another

There are TONS more Youtube videos out there on this topic, and a wealth of advice, information and tips to read and research. There's a good chance you will find something that works for you!

I can't guarantee your binge eating will go away forever (I still have my moments), but it could improve enough for you to live a better life.

u/LoseitMadeThisHappen · 2 pointsr/loseit

Hey man, when I started this I had roughly the same stats as you. A few months later, I'm at about 50 pounds lost and far fitter.

I hope you're a reader because my suggested first step is to read Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes. It helped me immensely to understand why, scientifically, I was the way I am. Once I knew, I made the appropriate changes.

For me, the first 30 pounds was diet change alone. No more sugary sodas or processed foods; I typically don't eat anything that comes in a box. My meals consist of grass-fed or free-range meats and organic fruits and vegetables; I don't count calories or fat or anything, I just make sure I know what I'm putting in my body. This goes a long way in making you healthier overall.

Once I dropped the 30 pounds, I started Couch to 5K (C25K) but I truly could've started at the beginning of my journey, I was just lazy. I'm in the forth week of the C25K program, which is about 15 minutes of running separated by small walking breaks, and it's an amazing high when I finish. Just today when I started the first run, I was about a minute in before I had to start breathing heavier. I couldn't go up five steps without wheezing; now I can sprint and it's a piece of cake. IT FEELS AWESOME.

That combined with the consistent, sensible eating has got me to 50 pounds lost and still dropping.

To sum up, STUDY why you're the way you are. CHANGE YOUR DIET and a great subreddit is /r/paleo to help you make wiser eating choices. START RUNNING NOW with C25K and guess what, another great subreddit for that at /r/c25k.

Power through that first week and trust me, it becomes an addiction and a joy, not a struggle.

u/OfficerNelson · 5 pointsr/loseit

No issues at all with the post, it's just that the FAQ has a lot of tips for people getting started that you should read through.

Start out with MFP (it's free) and see what happens. It is stupidly simple to use and will track everything you need. A food scale is nice (this is the recommended one, $12) but it is really only particularly needed if you are dealing with bulk food. On that note - if you want to get into "cooking", try starting out with chicken. Get some bulk chicken (unbreaded) and you can just pop it in the oven for a while. If you get raw chicken, make sure you get a meat thermometer ($10-20). Chicken gives you tons of protein and it's really difficult to screw up. I've focused on it so far and it has worked really well - I'm a picky eater, at that.

Frankly, you can get a kick start with some microwave meals and go from there. They are easier to track calories on and are stupid simple to make. Just keep in mind, microwave meals can really start to add up in price. If you're truly limited to food banks, try pasta to get some variation from the traditional canned food - just be aware that pasta is loaded with carbs and has quite a few calories, so eat in moderation. You can usually find cans of tomato sauce and dried pasta - it's no Olive Garden, but it will do. You can try adding some garlic powder and onion powder to the sauce to pump up the flavor a bit.

You should also actually calculate out your TDEE here. MFP's formula overestimates if you are truly sedentary like you say. I would recommend 1.1 for your activity level. It'll probably spit out a number a few hundred less than your MFP goal - follow that instead (although your MFP number will get you there, just slower).

One benefit to just simply using MFP is realizing how calorie-intense your foods are. I used to have a bag of chips or some cookies half of the time whenever I was at the computer and I don't want to imagine how many calories I mindlessly snacked down. When you start actually metering your snacks, the shock kicks you into gear and you really do just avoid them.

And most importantly - find something interesting to do. Anything. If it's just walking around town, great. Hell, if it's just sitting outside and people-watching, go for it. Getting your mind focused on something you enjoy will distract you from eating. I've found myself at the end of the day having not eaten anything and not even noticed because I've been so engrossed in something. On top of that, a social net is really helpful as well - if you're comfortable with the idea, find people with similar interests nearby and just visit, even if it means zoning out on their couch playing video games. If you don't want to, that's fine too - /r/loseit is more than enough of a social net.

u/orange_ollie · 3 pointsr/loseit

Hi there! Congratulations on the birth of your kiddo :)

Take a look at the links the automod posted - they're very helpful and will give you the knowledge and tools to get started. You'll want to purchase a digital food scale like this, and download a calorie tracking app like MyFitnessPal or Lose It. Weight loss is mostly about cutting calories, but being active is wonderfully helpful not only for toning your body but also in making you feel better about yourself. Walking is a fantastic activity for new moms - that was exactly how I started getting back into exercise after having my daughter last year.

For healthy recipe inspiration, take a look at SkinnyTaste, Sprouted Kitchen, and OhSheGlows. You can import the recipes directly into your calorie app. There are many, many more low calorie/healthy cooking blogs to discover and explore. Find one or two you like and have fun cooking!

One important note: If you are breastfeeding, take a look at this article and talk to your lactation consultant/doctor before you start cutting calories. Restricting calories too much can lower your supply.

Good luck with the weight loss, the exercise, and the kiddo!

u/verdouxkai · 1 pointr/loseit

Such a wonderful and sweet story, I hope you post again when it happens! I love the idea that u/TSDAdam mentioned! I think that would be perfect! Otherwise, my husband went to Jared's when he bought my ring. He sat down with their sales manager and described my personality to her. I don't know what all he said, but apparently the 2nd ring she showed him was "the one" and it really was, I love it! We've bought a few additional pieces from them since then, so as far as where to buy when you're ready, I can't recommend them enough.

As for weight loss tips, definitely recommend MyFitnessPal for logging, and purchasing a food scale. It is definitely an eye opener to how much you're eating versus how much you think you might be eating!

Best of luck! Can't wait to see you post again!

u/Rewind2013 · 1 pointr/loseit

How many calories are you eating? If you're not tracking, it would be a good idea to start because it's one of the best ways to make sure you're getting in enough food and still staying at a deficit. I think it sounds like you're eating too little.

For breakfast I'd add in something that has protein. This will help you last through the morning. Try hard boiled eggs, a cereal that has protein (cheerios has basically none), or some greek yogurt with a bit of fruit.

For lunch, pack a sandwich or a roll (low calorie tortilla, sliced lunch meat, small amount of condiments, some lettuce/tomato), a small serving of nuts (almonds or whatever kind you like), and a serving of fruit and/or veg. 1 granola bar is not enough to keep a growing male to get through the day. You should absolutely be eating lunch if at all possible. No wonder you're hungry.

Do you have a food scale? You can get cheap ones on Amazon. I use this one and it has always served me well. When I can't find a food's nutrition from a label I use the USDA Food Database. It's not perfect, but it's a decent way to get an estimate. It lists them in grams so that I can measure them with my food scale. For example, if this is the type of rice I eat, or am estimating with because I can't find my brand I would weigh out 48g of dry rice and count that as a serving. Most foods are weighed dry or uncooked. If you're not sure, count it as dry, but check the label first because some of them say whether it's dry or prepared.

To be less hungry, yes incorporate protein into your diet. Make sure that you're eating at the very least 1500 calories per day. As a growing male you should probably eat at least 1700-1800. If you give us your height/weight we can help you figure out a target calorie goal per day. Try out MFP to track your calories.

I use Under Armour shoes when working out and Salomon shoes for work (on my feet a lot). They have plenty of support and are comfortable for me. I'd look through reviews and make sure to get a shoe that is classified as distance/running.

If you don't want to stay there for an hour and a half and don't want to run, could you try a /r/bodyweightfitness routine at home?

If you do run, work up to it slowly. Start with alternating small amounts of running between larger periods of walking. Check out Couch to 5K. A lot of our members have had good success with it.

u/silentsybil · 2 pointsr/loseit

Strong Curves by Bret Contreras. He has an amazing program that is adaptable for any goal, including muscle gain and he breaks down how to calculate your calories for your goals. Or the book 'The new rules of weightlifting for women.' I love both and have linked them on Amazon for you here: Strong Curves: A Woman's Guide to Building a Better Butt and Body https://www.amazon.com/dp/1936608642/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_o5Dszb8RJXVTA
The New Rules of Lifting for Women: Lift Like a Man, Look Like a Goddess https://www.amazon.com/dp/1583333398/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_I6DszbVY1A4RJ

New rules of lifting might be more of what you're looking for and it has a great section on optimal protien intake for muscle growth but the strong curves workout is great for the glutes:) good luck!

u/xhayatox · 1 pointr/loseit

&gt;1). Sorry there's no way for anyone to know that. However on your frame 5 pounds will be more noticeable than on mine.

Thank you very much. I understand. I suppose I'll just try to lose the 5lb first and see how I look, and if I feel it's not enough, then I'll try to lose a few additional pounds to get the desired look. But I'm thinking 5lb may be sufficient like you said considering my frame.

&gt;2). Yup. 1 pound of fat is theoretically 3500 calories. You're understanding perfectly.

3500 calories= 1lb. Great. Easy to remember!

&gt;3). Myfitnesspal. It's an app for your phone or webpage either way you wanna go. You can keep a running log of everything. Built in bar code scanner and a massive user driven database. The most accurate way is to weigh everything you eat. Weigh the eggs, butter and milk and record.

The app you mentioned sounds good. I've actually used it in the past just to see how it works and it was very useful, so I'm going to download it tonight. Thanks for that.

&gt;4). Whenever you want to weigh. You weigh what you weigh at any given moment. But I think the answer you're looking for is.... As soon as you wake up and pee but before you eat or drink anything. Weigh daily... Weigh weekly... Weigh whenever, but it's most helpful to do it at a controlled time and environment.

Weighing in the morning does seem like the best since you are waking up refreshed and no food is in your system so I'll try that :P.

And lastly, you mentioned weighing food. Is that an easy thing to do and does it actually give you an accurate estimate? That sounds like a very useful tool. Would this be a good scale to start with?

u/blakethegeek · 1 pointr/loseit
  1. Lifting for strength development is going to be your best bet, which means somewhere in the range of 1-5 reps, for 3-5 sets. I would recommend using a beginner's program like Starting Strength which focuses on big, compound movements. The program is three days a week, usually finished in around 45 minutes.

  2. Never stop walking, even on lifting days. If you are short on time, walk on your non-lifting days. Walking is the best thing for you and it will help you recover from lifting.

  3. Whether or not something counts as lifting sorta depends on how much you can do. If you can only do 5 sets of 5 sit-ups or 5 sets of 5 push-ups, then yes, I'd consider it "lifting" since you are in the range for strength development. If you can do more than 10 reps, you will have to add resistance. This is where lifting weights will benefit you since you can add weights in a linear manner, keeping within the necessary range.

    Good luck!
u/GoAwayWay · 1 pointr/loseit

My food scale was about $12 or so on Amazon. I originally got it for home brewing and now it serves double duty. And definitely take measurements...sometimes when the scale isn't moving, or the number unexpectedly goes up, the measuring tape is a huge sanity saver.


Eating clean is awesome and a huge part of the battle for a lot of people, but ultimately, calories still matter. I love cooking too, and it's definitely been fun to get creative. I've found that if I do the bulk of my cooking on two nights per week, it makes lunches really easy. I can weigh and portion things out into containers and get it over and done with.


Measuring things, just like putting them into MFP, might take an extra minute or two each day, but I'm nearly 3 months in and it's just habit now.

u/Excuses__excuses · 1 pointr/loseit

Kann45's advice is pretty solid so in addition:

From what it looks like, your carb intake is high relative to your protein and fat. I struggle to keep them all in check as well. I suggest going to the supermarket and staying away from anything pre-made. Buy ingredients rather than meals; this way, you get to control how much salt/fat is in your food. MFP has a "My Recipe" section that will break down calories per serving as long as you punch in ingredients. I know we all have to eat out sometimes, but if you bagged a lunch, you wouldn't be at the mercy of all the extra crap a company mashes into their food.

Try to bag a lunch, bring deli meats and cheese, but not bread. You'll be able to get a lot more meat in and you'll be satisfied longer.

To help you stay on track with MFP, buy a digital food scale. Nothing crazy, but enough to measure what exactly, for example, does 300 grams of cherries looks like?

I always have a bit of no-cal sweetener in my bag or at my desk incase of a craving, but if you need the cola taste, Coke Zero is better than the regular stuff.

Up your water consumption to about 8 cups a day. I don't know what you do from day to day, but a big glass of ice water on hand helps me say no to all the snacky foods I might eat in place of it. I'm really happy that you're taking these steps to get healthier. Any more questions, ask away!

u/AnthonyAstige · 1 pointr/loseit

Weightlifting is a great safe way to get exercise, especially to set good foundations. [Starting Strength] (http://www.amazon.com/Starting-Strength-3rd-Mark-Rippetoe/dp/0982522738), as the title implies, is a good book to start with. It can be a bit technical, but it's nice to learn how your body works so you can make it stronger and lessen the probability of getting injured.

It can take a while for the positive physiologic / psycological effects of exercise to occur I think. For me it's when I'm no longer concentrating on what I'm learning and just lose myself in it. Once I get in the groove of things it's a nice way to escape the world and it acts as a stress relieve.

As I understand you don't have to avoid all salts, and the amount that people need vary greatly. The main thing I think is if there are indicators it's hurting you, like high blood pressure. If you're eating unpackaged foods you won't get much salt and can add some. However many preserved foods (canned, frozen, etc) already come with enough salt nutritionally.

You can also keep your cholesterol low without being vegan. If you have other reasons it's fine to be vegan, just a bit more restricting in food choices. Lean meats like fish and chicken breast are fine. Salmon has "good fat". Olive oil isn't bad for you and with some salt may get a flavor that you like back. It will have calories to watch our for, but it's pretty flavorful and could help as you get towards maintenance level calories.

u/snwborder52 · 3 pointsr/loseit

Read Starting Strength. It will teach you everything you need to know.

Don't be afraid of barbells! I know they can be intimidating, but they are the best exercises you can do. The book's program is 5 exercises: Squat, Bench Press, Overhead Press, Deadlift, Power Clean. It will show you how to do them, the science behind it, how to fix problem areas, and a bunch of other info. Even if you are just starting out, just doing the bar is great! (And if you can't do the bar, the book will show you how to get to that point).

To build strength effectively, you need to be lifting 3 days a week. You don't need to do cardio at all, though thats an extra 1,000kcal+ a week you could be burning by doing it on your off days.

Overall, strength training &gt; cardio for weight loss. When you lift you gain muscle, thus increasing your BMR so you will lose weight faster. Cardio, on the other hand, only burns calories and doesn't permanently increase your BMR. Weight lifting will help you lose weight and keep it off, cardio will only help you lose weight.

One great thing about lifting for the overweight is that you can rest as much as you want. Need to take a 5 minute break in between each set? Perfectly fine! Hell I almost always do when I do Power Cleans or Deadlifts (man those things tire you out). You just have to make sure you go all out on each exercise.

u/Elafacwen · 3 pointsr/loseit

Hello! I, too, am a female in my early 20's, have always been a fat kid, and came from a family who didn't give a shit about fitness and food. My heaviest weight was over 270lbs, and I have lost a total of 62 pounds since October by simply counting calories. That's all that is really too it.

  1. Join MyFitnessPal It is free and wonderful, and add me as a friend! My Reddit name is the same as my username.

  2. Buy a food scale on Amazon. This is the one I use.

  3. Dig out your measuring cups and spoons.

  4. Start out by MEASURING EVERYTHING you would normally eat using said food scale and measuring spoons. LOG EVERYTHING in MyFitnessPal. This will give you an idea of how many calories you are consuming with your typical food choices and serving size.

  5. Experience second reality check.

  6. Change.

    Start slow, make gradual changes, and stick with it. Once you have a set calorie goal (myfitnesspal will help you with that) you will realize that your current food choices are no longer keeping you satiated and under your calorie goal, and you will soon learn that healthy foods will keep you going longer and keep you under your calorie limit. And allow yourself one cheat day a week!

    Expect hunger pains and cravings for the first few weeks as you start to settle into your new, healthy routine. Once you get actual good food into your system and cut out all the junk, these cravings will diminish. However, be aware that once you eat 'junk food', you will find yourself craving it for a few days afterwards.


    A few awesome things:

    Water-Drink a lot. Coffee (watch the cream serving size and sugar!) helps control hunger when you are starting to shrink your stomach.

    Veggies-Steamed or raw, have them EVERYDAY.

    Non-Processed foods-learn to cook!

    Eggs-Awesome source of protein to keep you going.

    Lean Cuisine Dinners-With a steamed veggie on the side, perfect for a busy or lazy day.

    Don't buy trigger foods-Those bag of chips look good? How about all of those cookie choices? DON'T BUY THEM. If it isn't in the house, you are not going to cheat or binge on it.


    FIND WHAT WORKS FOR YOU! Experiment, change things up. What works for one person won't always fit the next person.
u/moonfall · 1 pointr/loseit

If you're really strapped for time, something useful (and relatively inexpensive as far as workout equipment goes) that I've found is this [stationary peddler] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B1VDNQA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;psc=1).

It's designed for office workers, but I use it while I game on my desktop. I've found it very useful, quiet and discreet. Also nice for days when it's really cold outside, or when I wake up feeling depressed or especially unmotivated to get my butt into workout gear and out the door. It could be useful to you if you spend a lot of time in an office, or have periods where you're at home and have 30m to an hour of random free time but can't get to the gym.

Apologies if this pitch comes off saleswoman-ey, haha! I'm a big fan of convenience/anything that makes making good choices easier.

u/coldize · 1 pointr/loseit

Read everything you can about http://stronglifts.com/5x5/

There is an incredible phone app that goes along with this program.

If you want to get real serious and motivated, go buy the book that it is based off of: Starting Strength

The only equipment you'll need access to is a barbell and plates, a squat rack, and a flat bench.

&gt; What are some things I should or shouldnt do right away?

  • First thing you should do right away is get your diet in check before worrying about your exercise. It sounds to me like you are hoping that exercise will be your primary tool for weight loss. You will likely be sorely disappointed if that is the case. Go get a food scale, a bathroom scale, download MFP, and learn how to calculate and track your calories. This should be your absolute priority.
  • In the gym, do NOT go too hard. You haven't lifted in a while, prepare to lift a very meager amount of weight for weeks, looking foolish and feeble the whole time. Do it right, don't copy other people. I started my squats at 90lbs and went up by only 10 every time until it started to feel slightly heavy, then I went up by 5.
  • DO start weightlifting now. It seriously feels so good and like I said above, you are going to start at very light weight. People like to put it off for some reason. Don't. Just get started with really light weight and start building. It's nice to have this "grace period" where you don't have to worry too much about lifting heavy and can focus instead on being comfortable in the gym, using the equipment, if certain movements hurt, and if you need help with form.

  • DO Ask people for help and advice. After a couple weeks with 5x5, if your gym has trainers, I'd suggest getting a single trainer session and having them walk you through all 5 of your big lifts. Make sure you know the correct form and start doing it with weights still fairly light.

  • Do NOT force yourself to do things that you don't like. But don't give up on something instantly, either. If you hate 5x5, then explore other options. There's a ton of great beginner plans out there. Whatever you do, just follow the program to the letter. If it tells you to do a 50% deload, then do it. You said you hate cardio but you used to be a swimmer. So maybe what you meant is that you hate running and ellipticals. Swimming is still cardio, and an excellent form as well. Maybe you'd enjoy biking outside? It's one of my favorite things to do in the summer. Or hiking! There's a lot of options. Explore.

  • DO Educate yourself. Make sure you have realistic goals for what you want to achieve. An absurd amount of men and women think they can lose weight and build muscle simultaneously. This is wrong....but only in most circumstances. If you have an expectation, validate it. Don't rely on baseless assumptions.

    Some helpful starting information would be the sidebar here in /r/loseit, which is focused more on losing weight primarily through diet and the sidebar over at /r/fitness, which is focused more on what you might be doing in a gym and why.
u/Ms_Andry · 3 pointsr/loseit

Just because you don't know your weight doesn't mean it isn't real. I avoided scales for a long time because I knew I was gaining weight and I just didn't want to deal with it. All that did was delay my decision to finally to start making positive changes. I'd recommend getting a scale and getting together the courage to weigh yourself -- and take some pictures for reference as well!

I find that weighing myself every day helps me stay accountable and helps me track my progress. If the day-to-day fluctuations (which are definitely real) stress you out, you can do weekly weigh-ins or use a smoothing app like HappyScale or Libra.

If you're looking for a cheap scale, there are plenty of options around the $20 mark. I have this scale and it works pretty well: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001KXZ808/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s02?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;psc=1

u/notpandora · 2 pointsr/loseit

Easiest question first: Yes it's just for added protein. Everyone's got different macronutrition goals, mine includes A LOT of protein for muscle gainz. This may or may not apply to everyone. I use protein powder in a number of ways, the main ones being 1. Protein shakes when I don't feel like eating food but need to 2. Adding to baked goods and stuff like pancakes so I don't feel guilty about eating pancakes. 3. Adding to Greek yogurt so I don't have to drink a protein shake.

My recipe for shakes is typically:

2 scoops of powder
8oz flavored soy or almond milk (chocolate or vanilla)
8oz of unsweetened soy or almond milk (vanilla)

I do the half and half because I found that if I try to do 16oz of the regular sweetened kind, it's like drinking pudding mix. Gag. You could also do water instead of the unsweetened to make it thinner. I don't do all water though because that's just as bad as the pudding blend.

Harder questions: It tastes like whatever they want it to taste like. I used to get the kind you can find at the grocery store or on Amazon, mainly Myoplex or Optimum Nutrition. ON is generally considered a good buy, Myoplex is kind of meh, I just got it in bulk once because I could. They come in different flavors based on the brand, ON has lots of flavor choices. The problem with these is that they pretty much universally contain artificial sweeteners which everyone has different opinions on.

Personally, I don't care for them, I'd rather add sweetness via whatever I'm adding the protein to. I found http://www.truenutrition.com/ which allows you to create custom protein blends, including the options for different or no sweeteners, and different or no flavors. I got the unsweetened unflavored Team Skip blend from the Formulas/Protein Formulas tab. Just because I'm not smart enough to make my own blend. It does add a little texture to the yogurt but I like it, adding the agave smooths it back out too.

Since this is /r/loseit, it depends on the individual's needs as to whether this is something worth adding to the diet - the extra protein can add satiety and help curb hunger/cravings as well. I don't really have that problem since I usually struggle to eat everything I'm supposed to eat (like, a crapton of eggs and plain chicken and broccoli.)

Oh snap i just had a really good idea, tomorrow i'm going to try to add protein to my breakfast oatmeal. Thanks for sparking that one! I usually make my oatmeal with almond milk as well, this will make it even better and I can use up my old Myoplex crap.

u/tr1ppn · 2 pointsr/loseit

MFP also has a website, in addition to the app. I like the app for the pie graph of what I ate today, the site for, well, everything else. For each their own.

I had an ankle surgery, so I TOTALLY get "hurts to run". Can you walk at least? If so, go with that. The body is an amazing thing. My ankle was a total mess, but the more I moved it and worked the muscles in the area to make up for the lack of ligament, it wasn't so bad. Might be something to try once you've taken off some weight.

I don't have a kitchen scale right now because poor, but I found this one on Amazon and put it in my wishlist. It's $25 and has a 5* review.

Swimming is an EXCELLENT exercise to do since it works everything. I am an EXTREMELY poor swimmer (childhood trauma), but I know plenty of people who were in the best shape of their lives because of it.

If you're looking for recipes, check out /r/fitmeals. I've found some pretty tasty things there. Otherwise just poke around on the google, or recipe websites. They usually have good things listed. Most spices/seasonings have no-low calories, so flavoring isn't an issue. The cooking method can be, though.

It sounds to me like you're taking a serious look at yourself and want to change. This is WONDERFUL. There's such a huge mental portion of losing weight that being in the wrong mindset can ruin everything.

Take it one step at a time. Today's lunch was 700 calories. Tomorrow you can aim for 350. Drink a lot of water. It will help you feel full/reduce cravings.

It's going to be REALLY tough for the first few days/weeks. It's well worth it though. I'm about a month in of being serious about my weight, and it's just second nature at this point.

Check out the MFP friends thread for some support, and feel free to message me here or on MFP (I'm tr1ppn_ because some jerk stole my regular username).

u/MoBe · 2 pointsr/loseit

Hey,

I weighted 257 lbs back in February 2011. I've lost approx. 50 lbs since on a low carb diet, while doing absolutely no exercise for the first three months or so due to a sciatica. It is not an easy transition, but it's easily the best thing I've ever done diet wise. It's not a matter of losing weight anymore, but living better overall. I can't tell you how many advantages there are to cutting carbs, but apart from the weight loss, the energy levels always stay constant. No more feeling drowsy or tired after a meal. No more heartburns (which was a daily occurrence for me). No more cravings for sugar before or after a workout or long bike run, or a long day at work. No more feeling bloated.

I've never counted calories during this period. Not a single instant. But I watch the carbs I'm eating very carefully. Still, not to the point of obsession. Most carbs are easily discarded: sugar, bread, starchy vegetables, pasta, etc. Mayonnaise is now my main condiment (not proud or anything, just saying).

I've started biking again recently. I do approx. 250 to 300 km a week with a friend of mine over the course of three, sometimes four rides. During these rides is the only time I "carb-up" (eat a significant amount of carbs). I've literally struggled to keep losing weight since I started biking. Why? Because exercise makes me hungry. I compensate before/during rides, but I'm not doing it to LOSE weight. I'm doing it because I love it and I feel better doing it. Exercise does not help weight loss. It helps build lean mass and make you feel better, but the energy spent will be "asked" for by your body -- hunger, cravings, etc. Exercise is a zero-sum game. Energy spent will come back in. If not, you'll just be suffering for no reason!

When I do fall off the low-carb diet (special occasions, sometimes just for fun), I do end up gaining some pounds very rapidly. Eating pizza one night does often result in seeing a huge increase on the scale (2 lbs easily), but it's temporary. The weight goes away just as fast when going back on the low-carb diet.

I aim to eat less than 20 grams of carbs (except fiber) a day. This is typically called a ketogenic diet, as it results in your body going into ketogenesis. I'm just human, so I'd guess that my average was closer to 30-35 grams a days. I've tested for ketogenesis a few times during the last few months. It was obvious I was in keto after bike rides, but not before.

Oh, and my blood pressure was significantly lowered. My cholesterol levels are better than they were, but not yet perfect. I still have a lot to lose.

Anyways, do you have any time to read? If so, PM me. I'd like to send you a copy of Gary Taubes' Why we get fat. Got the Kindle edition recently, and I have no more use for the printed edition.

u/yeti5000 · 3 pointsr/loseit

What are your goals? What do you hope to accomplish?

Lifting? Cardio? Weight loss?

Some easy tips (which I can help clarify) are:

Do most of your lifting with free-weights and a few cables. Unless you have a pre-existing condition preventing use of free-weights such as barbells or dumbells do NOT build a workout routine around machines or circuit training.

Practice form first. Form is everything. Start with an empty barbell or bodyweight only. Consider splitting the cost of a PT session between you two, but make sure to find a PT that also doesn't advocate training with machines.

Make sure you get your nutrition and out-of-gym habits in good form; if you don't eat right and rest correctly you might as well not even go to the gym for all the time you're wasting.

Find someone experienced in weight-training to help you put together a workout routine, and make sure it focuses largely on compound exercises. (I can help if you'd like; I am experienced in strength-training but carry no certifications, however my advice is free!)

Buy this book: http://www.amazon.com/Starting-Strength-Basic-Barbell-Training/dp/0982522738

It is now your new bible.

Focus on squats, deadlifts, powercleans, benchpress and other large muscle group compound exercises.

I'll add more as it comes to me.

u/Denz3r · 1 pointr/loseit

Jefit is a really nice site that has a lot of the exercises displayed as well as user generated routines. They also have a handy smartphone app you can use to show your routine and track logs of weight lifting. See what other people are doing in their routines (which other people rate as well) and you can get a good idea.

I would check around first at the other link posted on Men's health, you can also try T-nation and bodybuilding.com for some other areas for possibilities

/r/fitness also might have some suggestions on their board for putting together a routine, check the FAQ. If you want to get you routine critique (meaning you make your own and want to see if its good) make sure to put some time and effort before putting it up on some of these sites. Since so many people ask the same question, you might get a lot of flack if you just put a slapdash routine together.

EDIT: A good starting point is a book and website called " Starting Strength " It will help you define core exercises and seek to learn good form. its a great jumping off point and then you can add supplementary exercises as well once you are along.

u/Zarenadra · 2 pointsr/loseit

First, congrats on your weight loss! 25lbs is awesome!

The first several pounds fall off quickly and then it slows down a good bit. 2lbs a week is great!

Out of curiosity, are you using a food scale? When I started out, I was guessing and I did a terrible job at it. I was eating 300+ calories more than I was logging just because I was guessing wrong. I've had this for going on 2 years. Cheap and works great. :)

But really, 2lbs is an awesome pace.

u/krhsg · 2 pointsr/loseit

For a food scale... get one that can weight in different units. I bought this one because it was inexpensive, and there are only two buttons to know. The battery has lasted a long time. Just pick one... as long as it works reliably, it will be your best friend! I took mine with me when I stayed at my mom's for a few days. She laughed, but I kept my portions consistent and knew what I was eating!

My mom thinks that calorie counting is too hard, and she's constantly finding "the latest research" which says if you do this one easy trick it'll unlock weight loss. She is so supportive of me, but figuring out how to smile and thank her for the advice, but stick to counting calories (which works when I eat healthy and works when I eat unhealthy, and the difference is how I feel) because it's literally the only thing that's worked for me.

Seriously, I've done WW (and I know it works for a lot of people, but it just didn't for me... I could never stick with it), and I've done weight loss camps (Pritikin was a lovely vacation, but far too restrictive to be sustainable on the "outside") and I've tried just making healthy choices without counting calories (fell apart when I slipped up and made an unhealthy choice, and then used that as justification for the next and the one after that). What all of these have in common is that I achieved success, and would generally lose 30-40 lbs, and then give up. Counting calories is easy once you really get into a groove, and there's nothing gimmicky to trip you up.

I hope to see you making a SV post in the future! I'll be cheering for you.

u/farting5eva · 2 pointsr/loseit

WEIGHT TRAIN. And dude, you'll love it cuz you'll feel soooo powerful and kick-assy.

I follow a routine found in book called "New Rules of Lifting." It's my and my co-workers bible. There's also "New Rules of Lifting for Women," which is okay, but you know, I like the feeling of following a program designed for dudes, who gain muscle a lot quicker than us womens....Almost like I'm fighting the patriarchy one rep at a time.

Have fun! And congrats on losing all dat weight.

u/creatures · 9 pointsr/loseit

&gt; I don't know where to start! What do I eat? How do I exercise?? What is a normal routine like? What do you guys do?

What? I do what's in the FAQ. You should too.

&gt; I am very good at following instructions. I just need some damn instructions! Please and thank you.

Okay. Follow my instructions:


  1. Read this section on diet from the r/Fitness FAQ.
    • You weigh 164 pounds, so aim for 164g of protein daily. You might want to buy a thing of this if you're having trouble getting all your protein from meat.
    • Your BMR is 1780 (I'm disregarding your activity rate). Start with that for one week. Week two and onwards, eat 1500 calories.
  2. Find a low carb diet.
    • Keto is really easy to follow, the #1 rule is don't eat any carbs. It's not a magical weight loss solution, it just takes a lot of thinking out of weight loss.
  3. Read the section on exercise and the section on weight loss.
  4. You're going to be doing Starting Strength. Buy the book (hold out on your next video game purchase) and a gym membership (a legit gym, not planet fitness).
    • You follow the plan exactly as it is laid out. You do not modify the plan.
    • You workout three times a week -- Monday, Wednesday, Friday or Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday.
    • Check out the Starting Strength wiki.
    • If you have to start with the bar, you start with the bar.
    • Do not use a smith machine past the first week. You do squats in the squat rack. You bench like this.
    • Form is important.
    • Form is important.
  5. Have a scoop of whey mixed in one glass of milk 0-30 minutes before you work out.
  6. Keep track of calories. Find something to do it for you, like MyFitnessPal or DailyPlate. If something isn't on there, either you enter it or you find the closest match.
  7. Read the FAQ (all of it) every weekend.
  8. Come back in a month or two and ask if you're doing it right.
u/tracy_tracy · 3 pointsr/loseit

2nd this. I've had this one: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0032TNPOE/ref=cm_sw_su_dp for about 8 months &amp; I love it. My parents bought one too.

I initially thought the massive # of reviews was a bit weird (I think there were exactly 1200 when I bought mine), but they actively encourage customers to do an Amazon review. In fact, there was a "Please Review!" note in the box when I got mine, and I did (which is rare for me) because it is a great scale for a really reasonable price.

u/HermionesBook · 2 pointsr/loseit

not a dumb question at all, i didn't even know it was a thing until i found this sub. this is a food scale: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00V5IM5PY/ref=sxts_sxwds-tsp_3?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&amp;amp;pf_rd_p=3007296082&amp;amp;pd_rd_wg=P0Kcd&amp;amp;pf_rd_r=RRT7AV9M9FZ0XNRAYK9X&amp;amp;pf_rd_s=desktop-sx-top-slot&amp;amp;pf_rd_t=301&amp;amp;pd_rd_i=B00V5IM5PY&amp;amp;pd_rd_w=x2s1w&amp;amp;pf_rd_i=food+scale&amp;amp;pd_rd_r=ARSH36Z39Z90ASMVGQD0&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1500429657&amp;amp;sr=3

you use it to measure your food so that you can input it into MFP to count calories. lets say the packaging says 1 serving size of strawberries is 30 calories and next to that it says (100g). you put a bowl on the food scale, press a "TARE" function which takes away the weight of the bowl, and you put enough strawberries on the scale so that it reaches 100g. you just got the serving size. we recommend weighing raw meat as well, like raw chicken, before cooking it. the packaging may say 4oz is 140 calories, but when you weigh one of the chicken breasts the actual chicken breast ends up being actually 8oz so you're eating double and probably ruining your deficit. cooked chicken also weighs differently than raw chicken so it can change the calorie count if you're weighing the cooked chicken and not using the right MFP entries for it.

it's helpful because of how accurate it is. a lot of people weigh with measuring cups and spoons. these are wildly inaccurate because they're all made differently. a lot of people that come here with "why am i not losing weight?" posts usually aren't using a food scale. it takes a lot of the guessing work out of counting calories.

hopefully that helps. if you have any more questions feel free to ask! :) /r/loseit is really big on using food scales. i bought mine just to measure cheese every now and then and now i use it for everything that i eat.

u/zeppelinfromled · 4 pointsr/loseit

It's true that weight doesn't matter on its own. It's just a tool that we use to track fat loss. But depending on how quickly you're losing weight, it would be very difficult to put on muscle at the same rate, especially from cardio, as opposed to weight training. Muscle growth caps out around a couple pounds per month for most people. The world's strongest man may be around 400 lbs, but he can also deadlift over 1,000 pounds. It's just important to keep some perspective on that, because none of us are on his level.

It sounds like the psoriasis could play a role in the fat percent reading. You could try to use one of the impedance testers that goes through your hands (like this one). But I think the bigger factor is that the impedance fat percent testing just isn't that accurate to begin with. It can be influenced by all kinds of thing. When I test mine at night versus the following morning, it can easily differ by 4 or 5%. So I don't really trust it. The calipers are a good alternative, as long as you're careful to use them correctly, and the same each time.

I've been lifting heavily for some time now (while eating on a deficit), and muscle growth has certainly happened, but not quickly enough to stop weight loss. I find it's a lot harder to track getting healthy without being able to put some numbers to it. To each his own, though.

u/lessofme · 3 pointsr/loseit

I can't believe nobody else has said this yet (though maybe they did and I missed it):

Low-carb. Go low-carb.

Do you eat sugar and starches compulsively? Does it feel as though, no matter how much you eat, you still need more food? An hour or two after a meal, do you already want another one? Does trying to just "cut back" or count calories make your body scream at you to eat?

You need low-carb.

To put it as simply as possible, if you eat a lot of carbs, your body has likely been thrown completely out of whack. You eat flour or sugar, and your insulin levels go rocketing upward; a while later, they drop precipitously, making your body cry out for more in an attempt to stabilize the situation. But eating more only makes them rocket up again, and around and around you go. After years/decades of this, your body is pumping out vast amounts of insulin on a routine basis, leaving you with far too much in your system; however, your tissues have become numbed to it (ie, have become insulin resistant), meaning that it continually takes more to keep your blood sugar under control. Eventually the system begins to break down, leading to pre-diabetes, and later on full-blown Type II. Additionally, all the insulin coursing through your veins is the primary cause of your body's over-enthusiasm to store fat.

That's all terribly over-simplified, but for a more in-depth explanation, read this, and for an even more in-depth explanation, read this. To get you started for now, read this.

I am not shitting you: if you have carb issues (and as a pre-diabetic, you almost certainly do), going low-carb can change EVERYTHING. It can be a little bit of a challenge at first, but after a week or so it gets much easier -- it was far easier for me than any of the standard calorie-restricted, low-fat diets I've done, and I've done more than my share of them. Once you're on track, the compulsive eating vanishes. Your appetite drops off, your energy levels go way up, a surprising number of assorted physical complaints diminish. And most importantly, your weight starts to drop, quickly and without struggle.

I can vouch for this, because this is what happened to me. I've been obese for my entire adult life, and have made so many long, grinding efforts at standard diets -- always failing in the end -- that I was convinced there was just something inherently wrong with me. Then someone right here in r/loseit told me about low-carb dieting, and I decided, what the fuck? Why not give it a try? The worst that happens is that in two weeks, I'm still fat, which was going to happen anyway. So I tried a two-week "experiment," just to see what would happen.

That was nearly seven months ago. Since then, I've dropped roughly 80 lbs (of roughly 150 total that I need to drop) and feel for the first time in my life that I can be whatever size I want to be. Hell, a lot of the time I don't even feel as though I'm "on a diet"... it's more like, in soviet russia, diet goes on you. As long as I don't eat more than a certain number of carbs per day, the weight and everything that goes along with it, that all just takes care of itself.

Low-carb diets aren't a fad, they're not a crash diet, they're not unhealthy, though people will tell you all of these things. What a low-carb diet does is allow your body to regain its equilibrium and begin to correct all of the problems that have accumulated from a lifetime of eating refined carbohydrates. There are a lot of ways to go about it -- it's not all Atkins, although that's a perfectly valid place to start. But even just getting the major sources of carbs out of your diet -- the flour, sugar, and starch -- will almost certainly make an enormous, rapid difference in how you feel and what you weigh. It does require some effort, and it does require some sacrifice. Changing how you live your life is never easy. But compared to the tortures of a carb-based, low-fat, calorie-restricted diet (that doesn't work to address the real problem anyway), it's a walk in the fucking park.

If nothing else, it's worth a try. It's worth considering. For me, it literally changed my entire world. And I'm an Oregonian, too -- would I lead you astray? :)

Good luck, girl. I hear you so loud and clear my ears are bleeding. Think about this, and please, please ask if you have questions.

u/Fizzbit · 3 pointsr/loseit

Don't be! Now's the perfect time to subscribe to /r/xxfitness and check out some information. Get the book "New Rules of Lifting for Women: Lift like a Man, Look like a Goddess" - it introduces you to weightlifting with a great step-by-step guide and inclines your progress as you increase your lifting ability. It also has some tasty recipes and nutritional information.

u/Sapphi_ · 2 pointsr/loseit

The first one I bought was this one from Amazon because I saw it recommended multiple times on here but I didn't like it much; it's cheaply made and the buttons are annoying. Then I bought this one, also from Amazon and I'm much happier with it. It's much slimmer, which makes storage easier and the weighing surface is larger so my food isn't falling off the edges like it was with the other one. Also, it looks sexy :-D

u/8-BitBaker · 1 pointr/loseit

You can get a food scale and a real scale online fairly cheap, so hopefully you won't have to save up too long! Amazon has them for as low as $8 with good reviews as well as actual scales for around $18. If you buy a 'slightly' more expensive scale, that would push the order to $25, which would qualify it for free shipping.

I hope this helps (and might help with saving)! A food scale is definitely the most important thing, but having an accurate scale can be really good for morale as well. I definitely think this journey would be much harder if I couldn't weigh myself at least once a week.

u/caffeinated_panda · 1 pointr/loseit

Don't get discouraged, you're doing great! You've lost an average of over a pound a week, which is awesome. :) That said, here are two things you may want to check on:

  1. Your TDEE number is just an estimate based on what is typical for people of your age, height, and weight. It may be inaccurate (high) if you have a higher percentage of body fat than the calculator assumes, or if your metabolism just happens to be a little on the slower side. To get a more accurate number, you can either pay to have your body composition analyzed, or just estimate and judge by trial and error.

  2. If you don't have a food scale, you may be eating more calories than you think you are. Sometimes the serving sizes on packages are way off (a slice of cheese or a cup of cereal weighs more than what the package says it does), and you can end up eating more calories than you logged. You can get a good scale really cheaply. I own this one.

    Remember that a safe rate of loss is generally in the 1-2 lbs. a week range, so it sounds like you're exactly where you should be. Keep up the good work!
u/fatfuckery · 2 pointsr/loseit

First things first: congrats on the weight loss, man!

Now: you don't need equipment to exercise. Do something like Convict Conditioning or some other bodyweight program for your resistance training, and run laps around your house at night or get some exercise DVDs or something for your cardio.

The important thing: Don't neglect the strength component of your workout. People trying to lose weight seem to always focus on cardio and then get demotivated when they don't lose weight, or get super hungry, or look decrepit and emaciated, or whatever. I understand the hesitation about being overweight and exercising in public, believe me, but I really urge you to rethink things and consider getting a gym membership. For less that the $200 you want to spend on a clothes rack/treadmill, you can pay for a copy of Starting Strength and a one year membership at Gold's when they have their $9.99/month sale. They have all the cardio and strength training equipment you'll need and they have some 24-hour locations so you can go after midnight, when there's no one there.

Good luck and continued success!

u/video-girl · 1 pointr/loseit

I buy PB2 which is like peanut butter but with like 90% less fat (its powdered). You mix it with water and it actually tastes a lot like peanut butter, or i use it in protein shakes if i want a peanut butter taste. I like it quite a bit, but it is kind of expensive. Or Id say just to have some peanut butter! Buy the stuff that doesnt have a lot of added salt or sugar, and only have the recommended serving size (usually 2 tablespoons). Peanut butter is fine in moderation just makes sure you dont go over board.





PB2:http://www.amazon.com/PB2-Powdered-Peanut-Butter-6-5/dp/B002GJ9JWS

u/Lanfear57 · 1 pointr/loseit

Yyou might consider changing the batteries before buying a new one. I know my scale goes stupid when the batteries are low. Which happens way more often than it should because apparently I have a ghost who likes to try to weigh in frequently too.

I have a weight watchers scale that I got through my credit card rewards program, I don't think the particular model is made anymore, but I've heard good things about the other weight watchers models too.

When I get a new one, I'm probably going to get this or another by the same brand. My mother has had one of that brand for ages and it still works great and she loves it. Also no waiting for it to be ready to use - it's just step on.

u/RedditDoombot · 3 pointsr/loseit

I have that one as well. It's VERY accurate. I get the same weight ever time I step on it within a short time period.

A reviewer at Amazon (and myself) wondered if it was just keeping the old weight in memory. I had someone else step on it and then I tried it again. Again, same weight.

The review at amazon had a similar result.

My old scale was a Taylor scale and it would jump 1 pound in either direction (sometimes two).

It's nice to have a scale that just works. Also you can just step on it without having to tap it before hand like with other scales. Not a big deal but it's nice.

Get it. =)

It's only $28.95 if you're a Yank.

EatSmart Precision Digital Bathroom Scale

Edit: I also got a tape measure with it. Not sure if that's good everywhere but I only got it about one month ago. I presume they are still including tape measures.

u/phidda · 2 pointsr/loseit

If you think you are an idiot when it comes to lifting weight, buy or download starting strength. http://www.amazon.com/Starting-Strength-3rd-Mark-Rippetoe/dp/0982522738/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1334523317&amp;amp;sr=8-1 It keeps it simple and straightforward -- no need to guess what muscle you are going to "isolate" on a workout. Great for beginners.

Read it, download the logbook calculator (http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/Tools_and_Downloads) and join a gym that has a squat rack (a real one, not a machine). If you start now, you will see some real results by July (bathing suit time). Seriously. Start now.

I thought the same thing as you. I didn't play football in HS, and never took a weight training class. Weightlifting is for meatheads, right? Well, I realized that I was way too weak for where I wanted to be and that I could use a little meatheadishness. I tried bodyweight lifthing but frankly, I was so weak that I wasn't seeing the gains.

So I bought Starting Strength, read it, downloaded the workout tracking spreadsheet and started in January. Very happy with my decision because as my fat melts, I am starting to see muscles replace it, which is very satisfying.

u/Beef_Enchilada · 2 pointsr/loseit

If I were you, I wouldn't buy a fitness tracker yet. Buy a scale (/u/jslowick recommended a good one) and buy a food scale. Focus completely on your diet. Once you have your diet figured out, and you've made some progress, then get yourself a fitness tracker as a reward (for example after losing 25 pounds). This will help you focus on the most important thing (diet), and you'll get a reward for doing so.

u/mrsmissms · 3 pointsr/loseit

I've lost 50 lbs in 3 months (still have at least another 50 to go), and this subreddit did help. Everyone here has such fantastic advice, I'll just tell you what I am doing since it's surprisingly very simple. I'm sure it's been said but just wanted to throw my two cents in.

  • download My Fitness Pal. Log everything you eat, even the bites and licks of things. Use measuring cups and spoons and a food scale like this cheap one from amazon. Look at the side of the box of whatever your eating and try to eat the suggested serving size. Portion control, which was my biggest downfall before I started measuring! And literally log everything, I was making my children peanut butter sandwiches and licked the leftovers off the knife and decided to log it ... 70 calories! Anything that you put in your mouth, log. Follow the calories Fitness Pal gives you to eat. Don't go hardcore and eat 1600 calories only (as a male, never eat less than 1600 even when you hit your goal weight - which you will!!) Allow yourself a cheat meal once a week. Notice how I said cheat meal, not day. This was my downfall in the beginning, I would have a day of high calories then spend 3 days getting back on track, which ended up slowing my overall loss. With this said, if you are on track but get a bag of chips from the gas station and eat it, your day isn't ruined. Just start eating good immediately. Don't let one item of food dictate that your day is "ruined".

  • only liquids I drink are water and milk. This was hard, I was a Pepsi freak. But when you are counting calories, all those wasted calories on Pepsi that I could of had food instead made it easier to just drink water. Try to drink 2L a day. It's hard, but soon it gets easier. Buy a big water bottle and visually seeing the water get down helps. Set goals for your water consumption like by noon to have half the bottle empty.

  • for exercise, start slow. Walk down the block and back. Then make it 2 blocks. Then 3. Increase gradually over many weeks. You need to take care of your joints. Lots of people suggest swimming but if you're not comfortable with a pool, just walk the block. You don't need to be a gym rat. I do not go to the gym. I just go for half an hour walks. I found buying a FitBit really helped me get to 10,000 steps a day. In the beginning it was so surprising to see how I was hardly getting any steps! It's almost like a game to hit the 10k steps. I still have many days I don't, but now I am getting closer!

    Just remember this is a 1lbs journey at a time. I would get discouraged easily because it felt like the finish line was so far away. But as the weeks pass, it gets easier and easier and the lbs loss add up and before you know it you will have lost a substantial amount of weight! You CAN do this, and you will!
u/aeb1022 · 1 pointr/loseit

The LoseIt forums on the website are really nice and helpful if you have any questions specific to LoseIt. We also have a LoseIt community group for Redditors.

Tracking calories involves some effort on your part, the apps don't do it for you- but it's well worth it! Don't get discouraged. You'll need a food scale for best results. Godspeed!

u/karmicbias · 1 pointr/loseit

For me, yes, definitely.

If you're able to acknowledge them and not act on it, eventually they should be less strong and even subside. Basically since you aren't "rewarding" the urge with what it's trying to get you to do, why bother trying to get you to give in. The more often you succeed, the more successful you will be going forward.

(This is the basic principle behind the book Brain Over Binge, btw, which I pretty much recommend for anyone who feels like they're fighting a mental battle over food urges.)

u/lunarflorist · 3 pointsr/loseit

I second the EatSmart Scale but I got a slightly different one. Great scale, wide base, and excellent customer service.

Also, it's slim enough that my bathroom door opens overtop of it so I have more flexibility in where I place it. High weight limit, too!

u/SegataSanshiro · 1 pointr/loseit

I actually didn't notice that the price had gone up from the $50ish that I spent. It's a particularly great scale for a ton of reasons, but now that I see the price I'd probably consider the test kitchen's best value pick for $11(though I don't have personal experience with it), because I'm not sure I'd say the scale I have is $90 worth of better, just $40 worth. I trusted this recommendation when I was buying a scale for baking, long before I decided to start losing weight, and happening to have a great food scale was just a boon.

It looks like my scale is available for the price I paid at other retailers, though, Amazon is just charging more than they should and I neglected to look at the price. Sorry! :(

u/aissela · 1 pointr/loseit

This is the scale I use. I find it is accurate. If I step on holding a 1-lb dumbell, it detects that difference. However, it is n't "easily hidden." It is a square, glass and silver-colored scale, that works best when kept in one place, on hard, stable, even flooring.

There are travel sizes scales that you can look into, which are "miniature" and easily hidden. Be sure to read the reviews before you invest in one.

If you tend to obsess over scales, as you've said, you'll be better off weighing less often, or using a trend-setting app like "HappyScale" that will calculate your fluctuations into a general trend, so that you don't go crazy over the day-to-day changes.

If weighing yourself truly stresses you out, sets the mood for your day, or keeps you in a negative mental state, please seek the help of a mental health professional.

u/wartornhero · 2 pointsr/loseit

I recently stalled out, I mean stopped losing according to the scale completely. It hasn't moved in 4-5 weeks. Eventually I stopped looking at the scale and now I don't weigh myself every day like I used to. I am seeing much more progress in strength gains and physical NSVs such as clothes fitting better and more muscle definition. If you want to take fat% measurements I wouldn't suggest using a scale but rather either calipers as they are the most accurate but also the most work or if you have just a regular scale and know how much you weigh then you can do a handheld electrical impedance unit such as this one. The electrical ones wont be nearly as accurate as the calipers but are more work because you will need to do more math and maybe have someone help take measurements.

As for preventing losing muscle mass is to work out more and specifically focus on doing more resistance and strength training. Who knows maybe working out more will help to stimulate your appetite more.

u/kmc_v3 · 1 pointr/loseit

I have this one. At $11 it's a great deal. I can't speak to the accuracy or precision but it's definitely good enough. All I care about is that the numbers go down over time!

u/megannne · 2 pointsr/loseit

I don't think 8 months is crazy at all! If you really make every effort to commit yourself to loosing weight for 8 months, I think you'll be more motivated to keep going than ever by the time you're 4 months in.

I use myfitnesspal along with a lot of others on this sub and it's a great tool, as long as you are using it daily and honestly. I would also suggest buying a food scale (like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Ozeri-Digital-Multifunction-Kitchen-Elegant/dp/B004164SRA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1466449321&amp;amp;sr=8-3&amp;amp;keywords=food+scale) so that you accurately track what you are eating. I learned I had been way over portioning a lot of foods. I would also to be sure to read the sidebar to understand what your TDEE is and what your daily calroie goal should be.


And again, making the effort is the absolute hardest part so there is no more 5 days of tracking and then "forgetting it". If you want this, you can do it. If you ever have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask. I come here every day and read posts and if I don't come across something I'm curious about or having issues with, there are so many wonderful people here who will offer up advice.

u/GooGooGajoob67 · 2 pointsr/loseit

I can't for the life of me remember what brand I have (I'm at work), but I think it might be this one for $12.58.

Mine's really easy to use and seems to be accurate, and even if this isn't the one I have, this one has some pretty good reviews on Amazon.

u/Eloiseriley · 1 pointr/loseit

I use a basic digital scale by EatSmart. It's relatively cheap, easy to use, attractive looking, and so far seems really accurate. I love it and their customer service seems amazing so I'm not too worried about it breaking anytime soon.

Here's a link to my scale on Amazon

u/cordial_carbonara · 1 pointr/loseit

I recently purchased this Smart Weigh scale and love it. It's accurate, simple, and is slim and easy to store. I've been using this OXO kitchen scale for a couple years now and have zero complaints. It's kind of pricey (I found mine half price at an outlet store), but I've definitely gotten my money's worth out of it because I bake a lot (including breads) and it's never failed me. If you're looking for cheaper, my mom seems to get by just fine with this little guy. I wouldn't use it for big jobs or things that you need accuracy to the gram, but it works for casual use.

u/Kittenmittons91 · 1 pointr/loseit

Measurements are so motivating! And sometimes a better metric than the scale, just because your actual weight can be influenced by so many things. I do mine once a month and they're always super encouraging. I'm down almost 20 pounds and I don't really see a difference in the mirror, but my measuring tape promises I'm getting smaller.

I got this puppy from Amazon for less than $5 shipped and it's made measuring a lot easier and more accurate.

u/losingme · 2 pointsr/loseit

It's a scale made by a company called EatSmart. They seem like a good company, have excellent reviews and I really like the scale so far. They even tossed in a clicking tape measure for body measurements. (Wasn't mentioned where I bought it so that was a nice bonus.)

Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001KXZ808

u/petitanomie · 4 pointsr/loseit

i like this one on amazon. cheap, cheerful, the batteries have lasted over a year and i bought a second one to use at my parents' home.

the only features i care about are a clean surface, the ability to "tare" (reset the scale to 0) and switch between and metric units.

u/jbheals99 · 3 pointsr/loseit

Great job. Congrats
Strength training with provide some serious results. Starting Strength and this book are recommended fairly universally by r/fitness.
Note: I can't speak to it's effectiveness of the latter, I am a guy but SS has been great.

u/total_tosser · 4 pointsr/loseit

I made a post in your ex-boyfriend's topic here.

I think that it's important for you to realize that this relationship was not meant to be. Attraction works in many ways. Obviously there are different types of attraction; emotional, physical, spiritual, etc... and they all work together to typically attract one person to another. Some guys are attracted to skinny girls, some guys are attracted to curvy girls, and some guys are attracted to larger girls. There's nothing wrong with that, it's natural. As I mentioned in my post linked above, I don't consider myself to be a shallow guy but I also do not think that either person should be willing to "settle" or force attraction. That will ultimately end in a bad situation and it's not fair for either person involved. Would you really want to continue dating someone who struggles to see past a flaw of yours? What you need to look for is someone who doesn't see them as "flaws"; someone who embraces them as a part of you.

As hard as it may be, try not to be too upset and hurt by this. You have to use this as an assertion that the relationship was not meant to be. I think it's a bad idea to jump right into an exercise and diet routine right away because it's pretty obvious that you're doing it for all of the wrong reasons (believe me, I have been there myself). If I were you, I would take a few weeks (maybe even a month) and just let things settle down a bit. Do some research. Starting an exercise routine and changing your diet are big decisions. They should be implemented as a lifestyle change rather than a "I'm going to do this until I look smoking hot" or "He'll wish he hadn't broken up with me when I lose 25/50 pounds" type of thing.

You mentioned that you're eating healthier than him typically. While you're researching and/or evaluating your options for diet/exercise, use something like myfitnesspal and track everything you would eat for a week. Don't alter your eating habits at all, just keep track of it. From there, you'll have a pretty good idea of what you need to work on (as far as diet is concerned). I'm one of those "low carb/high fat" (keto) weirdos. I don't want to push my decisions upon you but if you're interested in hearing more, I'd highly recommend Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It by Gary Taubes.

You also mentioned that you previously had an exercise routine which you stopped due to a lack of time. If you're serious about getting into shape and becoming healthier (for you), your exercise program should take precedence over nearly everything else. Fit it into your schedule and do not compromise that time. I run on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. I also work a very hectic job (often requiring more than 40 hours per week) and spend a significant amount of time with my girlfriend outside of work. On those days, I might make plans (especially the weekends) but I always leave myself a free hour for running. If that interferes with my plans, I'll reschedule or cancel my plans.

All in all, don't let this get to you. The worst thing that you can do is obsess over this and let it determine what you do with your life. If you want to make some healthy changes, you need to do that for you. It took me a long time to figure that out, but I have finally reached that point and I'm not exaggerating when I say that there is no better feeling. I'm not trying to impress anyone but myself and that feels freaking fantastic. Take some time and heal a bit before you make a drastic change. Your mind is just like a muscle; it needs time to heal and recover too.

u/lunartalk · 5 pointsr/loseit

as far as stores go, Im pretty sure you can find one at Walmart, Target, or Bestbuy


online (amazon) is usually a really good place to find them as well.
You can read reviews and find better deals sometimes.

Here are a couple links to ones that i have seen recommended on this sub :)

https://www.amazon.com/Mosiso®-Digital-Kitchen-Scale-Capacity/dp/B00JRFB2YM

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004164SRA?psc=1&amp;amp;redirect=true&amp;amp;ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00





here are a few links to threads about food scales

https://www.reddit.com/r/loseit/comments/537f97/the_importance_of_a_food_scale_1700_vs_2900/

https://www.reddit.com/r/loseit/comments/3cp23p/if_youre_thinking_of_buying_a_food_scale/

https://www.reddit.com/r/loseit/comments/55dci3/the_importance_of_a_food_scale/

u/ohchaco · 2 pointsr/loseit

I'm in the same boat. I've bought a balance disk for my chair, which helps keep my core engaged and improves my posture. I also got a standing desk (your employer might be willing to get you one - mine did!) which I use for a few hours a day. I don't like standing all day as it's not great for my lower back, but it's nice to stand for a bit. I am planning to eventually purchase a deskcycle. There's elliptical versions of this you can purchase as well if that's more your style. Lastly, I try to walk around and do some light stretches periodically throughout the day. I wouldn't really constitute any of this as exercise (although the deskcycle could be if you were diligent about using it), but it does make my body feel a heck of a lot better than just sitting, motionless for the entire day!

u/J-squire · 3 pointsr/loseit

Check the batteries, but if you need a new scale this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004164SRA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;psc=1
is only $11 and I love it. I mostly bought it because it looked like it was weighing out weed and I like a company with a sense of humor about how their products are used. But I find that it's accurate and quick to react. I had bought a different food scale in December from Bed Bath and Beyond and it took forever to register a change on the scale. Fine when I'm just weighing 1 thing, but when you are mixing and it takes more than 30 seconds to accurately measure a new item added, it's frustrating.

u/loseitbetty · 1 pointr/loseit

That honestly sounds pretty healthy. Definitely try MyFitnessPal, that would probably help you a lot. This is the food scale I have and it's lasted far longer than any other scales I've had in the past.

u/intelix · 1 pointr/loseit

You can use this to add in your recipes easily
http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php

My fitness pal also has a easy to use recipe calculator as well. If your not using a website recipe the easiest thing to do is just write everything out in notepad then hit "enter recipe manually" on that page. Then it will bring up a text box that you can paste everything into and you can adjust from there.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/box

As far as knowing how many grams are in a cup of whatever your using I would suggest this scale. Its cheap and easy to use.
http://www.amazon.com/EatSmart-Precision-Digital-Kitchen-Silver/dp/B001N07KUE


u/thevulturesbecame · 2 pointsr/loseit

I feel you on the scale thing, my old one did the same thing lol. Wildly different! I ordered this one on Amazon which is cheap and I haven't had that problem with it: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001KXZ808/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1473172890&amp;amp;sr=8-2&amp;amp;pi=SY200_QL40&amp;amp;keywords=scale&amp;amp;dpPl=1&amp;amp;dpID=41pqd-hroEL&amp;amp;ref=plSrch

It doesn't do anything fancy like bf% or heart rate, so maybe you wanna splurge more than I did.

As for loose skin, don't fear it. It's the lesser of two evils. It also probably won't be as bad as you think. Lose steadily, moisturize your skin, stay hydrated, and gain muscle tone. If you're too upset by your loose skin, I think lace one-pieces are super sexy too!: http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/img-thing?.out=jpg&amp;amp;size=l&amp;amp;tid=49914043 (random one from Google)

u/psykotedy · 1 pointr/loseit

Honestly, I would say that grabbing a copy of Starting Strength and running through that is your best bet. Start light (lighter than you think), and work your way up very gradually.

Or go check out /r/bodyweightfitness and /r/overcominggravity to avoid weights altogether.

And even though everybody else has already said it, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that you have made some tremendous progress and look gorgeous.

u/DadeMurphyNYC · 1 pointr/loseit

I bought this scale recently. It's reasonably priced and I'm very happy with it:


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0032TNPOE?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf



It would be best to weigh yourself at least once a week consistently to follow a trend of weight loss and make adjustments as you go along. Good luck!


u/citan_uzuki · 3 pointsr/loseit

You're past the big hurdle by already logging in two weeks. Good work on the initial weight loss, too. =)

MyFitnessPal and a food scale are your two strongest allies in the realm of accurate food intake measurements. MFP gives you a lot of information about everything -- from what you're eating at home to restaurant meals and more.

Over time, regular use of the scale will teach you how to eyeball serving sizes, understand how portion sizes actually look when compared to the nutrition facts, and really recognize how to improve your eating for both weight loss and healthy ongoing maintenance of a goal weight.

Good news: it's not a big investment to get a food scale. You can get one from Amazon for around $15 without Prime. Here's a good one that's highly rated and can hold up to 12 pounds for measuring.

Keep on truckin' OP.

u/gungadin · 2 pointsr/loseit

I was using this one for a while and was happy with it. I've since upgraded to a withings, which I'm also happy with but clearly costs more money :)

u/gaya2081 · 2 pointsr/loseit

Yeah :( thats the bad side. I really love my EatSmart Precision GetFit Digital Body Fat Scale and its on sale with free shipping at amazon, but its $55...which is a great deal, but over your budget :( Maybe ask for it for christmas?

Also since you are doing keto (which I am also doing) it is an awesome way of making sure you are not losing muscle mass too quickly...I had to up my protein (thus my calories) because I felt I was losing muscle too quickly. Now my muscle is much more stable, but my fat loss is still moving along.

u/Keroseneslickback · 2 pointsr/loseit

How about exercise? How much do you do?

For scales, I've seen these exact ones in my doctor's office before (alongside the proper ones). Out of like 12,000 reviews, a 4.6/5 score is damn good. Regardless of some problems, it should be a good scale if your luck isn't completely terrible. But with all glass scales: Make sure they're on a flat surface. I personally use the smaller one with a max of 400lbs.

What I can recommend to you is this:

You should speak with your doctor about what's going on. Perhaps they have more insight. If they hadn't done a hormone blood test, they probably would.

As with most "Help, I'm not losing weight" posts, if there's no problem with you counting calories or with your body, then it's down to either: Eating less calories. Or, exercising more. 2000 calories at your weight is quite the cut (at my 6' 233lbs, 2200 calories and that's deep for me). Because of that I'd recommend exercising more. If you're not walking (on top of normal activity) everyday, do so everyday. At least thirty minutes, and an hour is great. More than an hour depends on how you feel.

u/theycallhimhellcat · 1 pointr/loseit

Seriously, I don't know how i used to eat so much either. It's insane to think about the portions I used to have.

I wouldn't worry about small fluctuations like 204-206. Sometimes people post saying they never adjusted after losing 40lbs, and that makes quite a difference.

I use this one.

There are many ways, all vary in accuracy, but I think it's over hyped. Just use the same measuring method every time, since what you want is to see progress.

The method I use is as follows (Only the right side of the body):

  1. measure the skin between the nipple and the arm pit (diagonal)
  2. measure the skin by pinching belly button and to one side (horizontal)
  3. measure the skin in the middle of my thigh (vertically)

    To measure, you just grab skin with your right hand and pinch, place the caliper about 1/2 inch away from your pinch, and close it till it pops into place. Add up the 3 measurements and plug it in to a calculator and you get your BF%.

    The one in the link actually comes with a little chart, so you could use their method also.

    As for portions, I caved and bought a scale. They are like $18 on amazon. It's kind of a pain, but I just measure everything that I make and then I know for sure. For eating out I just guestimate portion size, but I don't do that often anyway.

    And if you're an excel nerd, you can totally geek out so that all you have to do is plug in the number of grams of each item and it will calculate your total consumption automagically.

    EDIT: Tape measure works too, but measure both biceps, both thighs, waist at belly button and hips and take the total and track that, since you'll get some variation in specific areas. I quit the tape measure because I felt like my stength was going up and my fat was going down so the measure wasn't changing all that much.
u/MKorostoff · 2 pointsr/loseit

Thanks for your reply. I'm 5 foot 8.5 inches. I'm still 2 pounds overweight and, yes, I'm sure I'd benefit from more fat loss. My end goal is 155, which I estimate would equate to 9% body fat. I've heard that at a low enough body fat the skin starts to kind of grab on to the muscle, but THIS amount of skin is just sort of hard to picture ever tightening.

I guess in an ideal world I'd get my body fat measured in one of those water tanks, but failing that I'm not sure where I'd find a better measurement option than BIA. I imagine calipers would be utterly worthless on my body given how much skin I'm able to pinch. I use this device which is pretty accurate from what I can tell. When I follow the instructions the reading is pretty consistent, and I've had a few buddies try it out, and they've all gotten readings that agreed with earlier measurements (and also just seemed to make sense visually). And for what it's worth, the Amazon reviews are glowing.

u/SaxyGeek · 1 pointr/loseit

I'll strongly suggest picking up a food scale! This way you can be confident in your calorie intake, and learn a lot more about portion sizes. I use this one. It's super cheap and works very well!

u/yubman · 1 pointr/loseit

Don't know about the scales, but the newer hand held units are pretty good and affordable:

Omron HBF-306C Fat Loss Monitor

There are rules to ensure a more accurate reading, ie no readings after meals, when you first wake up etc.

u/joeythenaiveone · 1 pointr/loseit

If you have Amazon Prime, this is the measuring tape I have and I love it. It's cheap, ships free (with Prime) and it's easy to get consistent measurements with.

u/snatchdracula · 3 pointsr/loseit

http://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Get-Fat-Borzoi/dp/0307272702/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1299642695&amp;amp;sr=8-1

I really liked this book for explaining exactly why low-carb works and why eating lots of fat is healthy

http://www.amazon.com/Paleo-Solution-Original-Human-Diet/dp/0982565844/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1299642745&amp;amp;sr=1-1

This book is really good for applying what Taubes says to your life and has a nice plan.

u/born_mystery · 1 pointr/loseit

I love this scale. I've had it since 2012 and it works great - even comes with a cloth measuring tape for tracking inches. It also has over 27,000 reviews with an average of 4 out of 5 stars, if that matters to you.

I have large tiles in my bathroom, so I just make sure the feet are all set on the same square.

u/Rashkh · 1 pointr/loseit

I bought this scale for weighing myself around February of last year. Works great, super quick, and dirt cheap.

I've also bought this food scale in May and it's also been working great for food, tea, and coffee measurements. Being very cheap also helped. It's smaller than it looks though and so may not work for you.

u/chems89 · 2 pointsr/loseit

Much less fat! You can order it off Amazon, its just a tbsp of powder plus a few tbsp of water, mix it up. It's not 100
% like peanut butter of course, but in a smoothie with tons of fat in it, you can't even tell it's just a peanut butter-y taste :) I just add a half a tbsp and it's wonderful!

u/LegalEagle80 · 1 pointr/loseit

I got mine for $15 on Amazon. Honestly, they're all kinda similar. Just make sure they measure multiple types of weights (mine does grams, ounces, kilograms and pounds) and has a "tare" function that can zero out the scale after you've put something on it.

Something like this would be good: https://www.amazon.com/Ozeri-ZK14-T-Digital-Multifunction-Kitchen/dp/B004164SRA/ref=s9_simh_gw_g79_i1_r?_encoding=UTF8&amp;amp;fpl=fresh&amp;amp;pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&amp;amp;pf_rd_s=&amp;amp;pf_rd_r=AXV0EB1NS9GMDWC4V2GS&amp;amp;pf_rd_t=36701&amp;amp;pf_rd_p=6aad23bd-3035-4a40-b691-0eefb1a18396&amp;amp;pf_rd_i=desktop&amp;amp;th=1

u/JDSchu · 3 pointsr/loseit

Really depends on how much you pack it in there, I guess.

For future reference, it's SUPER cheap to pick up a digital food scale. I got mine for $12 off Amazon and it's pretty versatile and works flawlessly. http://www.amazon.com/Ozeri-Digital-Multifunction-Kitchen-Elegant/dp/B004164SRA/ref=pd_sim_79_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;dpID=51RcCqW6n8L&amp;amp;dpSrc=sims&amp;amp;preST=_AC_UL160_SR151%2C160_&amp;amp;refRID=0P7TEA31XQCSAVVP5A82

u/AXP878 · 1 pointr/loseit

Calculators are never very accurate. I would recommend getting a body fat percentage caliper, they're much more accurate. You could also try an electronic device although my fitness trainer friend recommends the calipers as more accurate. You want to focus more on trends rather than the daily number.

u/daiko7 · 3 pointsr/loseit

I have two. This was the first one I bought last year. It still works great. It's scuffed up a bit, though.

I bought this to keep at work. It works pretty well too.

u/MaebiusKiyak · 2 pointsr/loseit

Do yourself a huge favor and don't restrict your exercise to cardio. If anything strength training is much more important and will yield much faster results.

Read this book cover to cover (for serious): http://www.amazon.com/Starting-Strength-3rd-Mark-Rippetoe/dp/0982522738

Check out r/fitness and r/weightroom.

u/denovosibi · 3 pointsr/loseit

I would invest in a good food scale then and I think you'll see some improvements. I use this one and love it. Also, it's cheap!

u/grubnubble · 16 pointsr/loseit

Read Brain Over Binge. It's got the best, most useful, practical, and empowering approach I've found. It basically says this: the urge to binge is not something you can control -- but giving into the urge and actually binging is entirely in your hands. I mean, literally.

There is nothing making your hand reach for food and put it in your mouth. Don't be a victim, and do not let people tell you that you are a victim. You are not. You can stop. It's a matter of rerouting some neural pathways is all (granted, that still takes a lot of work, but at least there's hope with this approach!)

u/Silver_kitty · 1 pointr/loseit

I've got this one from Amazon. It's a huge help in knowing the weight of the chicken that I'm making, as well as keeping me true to one serving when I do have cereal or chips.

u/Degenic · 1 pointr/loseit

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0113UZJE2/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;psc=1

This is the one I have. It only has one issue, sometimes (I mean like 1 in a couple hundred weigh ins, it freezes and you need to take the batteries out. Easy to clean and cool looking too!

u/miz_nyc · 2 pointsr/loseit

I have this one from amazon $12.99
http://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Digital-Multifunction-Stainless-Kitchen/dp/B0113UZJE2/ref=zg_bs_678508011_3

but I've seen some people find cheaper scales at walmart, target.

Good luck!

u/chocochips · 1 pointr/loseit

Welcome! This scale on amazon is what I bought when I started out. Cheap and reliable. Getting a scale was the best decision I made for myself with regards to my health!

u/KegM4n · 2 pointsr/loseit

This one is a really good value - mine has been going strong for 2 years now!

u/74bpa · 1 pointr/loseit

This is the one I have and I love it. It's been accurate when weighing weights and been very close to my doctor's scale. I don't get multiple weights on different tries. best scale I've owned.

https://www.amazon.ca/EatSmart-Precision-Bathroom-3-5-Inch-Technology/dp/B001KXZ808/ref=gp_aw_ybh_a_26?_encoding=UTF8&amp;amp;psc=1&amp;amp;refRID=NPWZ32QVZP94D4XJ4CY8

u/diggdeserter · 8 pointsr/loseit

You should check this stuff out. Its peanut butter powder. Most of the fat has been removed. It takes just like peanut butter. I use it in shakes, eat a teaspoon plain, add it to greek yogurt, or mix with a little water to get a pretty good analog of real peanut butter without the calories. This shit is surprisingly good.

u/dante437 · 1 pointr/loseit

Anytime! Best wishes--just keep trying. Another tip is to get a kitchen scale--I have this Amazon model: http://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Digital-Kitchen-Scale-Display/dp/B00V5IM5PY/ref=lp_289787_1_4?s=kitchen&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1464531224&amp;amp;sr=1-4

For $10, I can weigh out anything--it's been a lifesaver.

FYI--My daily breakfast is one serving of plain cheerios along with a serving of unsweetened cashew milk (only 25/cal per serving), and a banana.

u/BiancaBlack · 1 pointr/loseit

Good luck with your lifestyle changes. I found this article to be quite inspiring: http://www.vox.com/2016/5/10/11649210/biggest-loser-weight-loss and while it's not everyone's cup of tea this book has helped me a lot: https://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Get-Fat-About/dp/0307474259/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1483538819&amp;amp;sr=8-1&amp;amp;keywords=why+we+get+fat+and+what+to+do+about+it

Let us know how you get on!

u/MorbidandBack · 2 pointsr/loseit

I use an Omron handheld device:

Amazon Linky

What I will say is that most consumer level Body Fat % devices are inaccurate, in the sense that the numbers they give will be a fair bit off from what an actual scientific, doctor led lab analysis will yield.

That doesn't really matter though, in the same way that different scales can vary so can these devices. You have to use these BF% devices at the same time of day and under the same circumstances each time.

Just treat the BF% calculator the same as you would a scale, and even if the number it reads isn't scientifically accurate it will go down over time which is what you really care about.

What I do is take my readings first thing in the morning and take about 3-4 readings and average them together to get a more steady number. Over the last two months this has proven to show a steady decline in my BF %.

u/LevitatingTurtles · 1 pointr/loseit

I got this scale a month or two ago... it works great and it was a great price.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001KXZ808/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00

u/rebelterp · 1 pointr/loseit

It's not too expensive if you get it from amazon. This 5lb tub lasts me 6 months http://www.amazon.com/Optimum-Nutrition-Standard-Double-Chocolate/dp/B000QSNYGI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1381073336&amp;amp;sr=8-1&amp;amp;keywords=whey+protein


If still too pricey, keep some boiled eggs on hand and eat two after a workout. About 160 calories and they are great way to prevent a binge after working out.

u/marymango1 · 3 pointsr/loseit

I'm surprised no one has mentioned this, but get a food scale! It's like $12 on amazon, and pretty essential for CICO. Volume measurements can be so inaccurate, I bet if you start weighing your food you will start to see the pounds go. This is the one a lot of us use: https://www.amazon.com/Ozeri-Digital-Multifunction-Kitchen-Elegant/dp/B004164SRA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1468379761&amp;amp;sr=8-3&amp;amp;keywords=food+scale

Also, do not eat back the exercise calories! They way overestimate how much you burn and you can't trust it.

u/Yarzospatflute · 1 pointr/loseit

Wow. I think bodybuilders go for 2+g/lb, most of the rest of us just need about 1g/lb. Some say 1g/lb of LBM, some say 1g/lb of total weight just to make sure. Where did you read that?

More to your question though, a protein powder like this one is 120 calories per 24g of protein. For food chicken breasts are probably going to give you the most protein for fewest calories.

u/ChotatoPip · 2 pointsr/loseit

Along line with what ff said, the Eatsmart Precision Digital Scale is also a good buy if you just want a basic and accurate scale minus the bells and whistles for $30. Ozeri has a nearly identical scale for the same price, and their food scales are top notch as well.

u/birthdaycake247 · 1 pointr/loseit

A food scale like [this one ](Ozeri Pronto Digital Multifunction Kitchen and Food Scale, Elegant Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004164SRA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_HnGsybNMM38YS) would help take the guesswork out of CICO. It might take some getting used to but once you've got it figured out, it's really easy to integrate into your new lifestyle going forward.

u/ChaoticHungry · 1 pointr/loseit

This is the scale I bought though the price might be higher than what you're looking for. I'm very satisfied with the purchase. It's easy to use (just step on to it) and the readout is large and bright.

u/TheContrarian2 · 0 pointsr/loseit

It's probably muscle weight. Muscle is dense and heavy, but it's good to have. If you have one of those body fat scales, or calipers or other ways of accurately measuring body fat, you'll see. I have one of these (but I only paid about $40.00 for mine, I wonder if it's a different model). It will show that if your body fat is going down but your weight is going up as you work out, you're just gaining muscle. I'd be 400 pounds if it were all muscle!

u/AvesAvi · 3 pointsr/loseit

The Etekcity scale is the Amazon's Choice scale, but there's a worrying amount of reviews saying the scale randomly shattered without being touched.

The EatSmart scale has super good reviews praising its accuracy, and a lot less reports of the thing spontaneously shattering.

Anybody have some anecdotes with these?

u/misoranomegami · 2 pointsr/loseit

I don't know about reliability or what not, but I saw an add for [this] (http://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Digital-Weight-Technology-Pounds/dp/B00F3J9G1W) scale on Amazon the other day for $20 and it goes up to 400 lbs if you're just looking to have a digital scale at home.
It really depends on you though. I like being able to weigh myself in the privacy of my own house, after using the bathroom in the morning and before eating anything or putting anything on. I just accept that it's going to go up and down and at time significantly.

u/mcfreakinloseit · 1 pointr/loseit

There are but you'll likely have to order online. Years ago when I started I was just a bit over 350 and my scale only goes to 345, it was a great day when I saw a weight on my scale instead of an E. If you've been at it for a month since you last weighed in you'll probably be right close to dropping below 350.

heres a link for a 400 lb capacity scale on amazon

u/deathfreshener · 1 pointr/loseit

Breakfast:

Clean Lean Protein shake with banana and powdered peanut butter, made with almond milk.

Lunch:

Giant handful of spinach, diced tomato, 1/4 - 1/2 cup brown rice, two eggs, sometimes avocado, always with a bit of pecorino romano cheese.

Dinner:

Sometimes the same as lunch or a spinach, grilled chicken and rice bowl with broccoli, bell pepper and avocado. Dab of coy sauce or sriracha.

Snacks:

We love the whole grain Fig Bars we get from costco, also Mama Chia is a fave as well. We also get the 1 lb dark chocolate bars from Trader Joe's and have a square after lunch and dinner.

u/Rawrtin · 3 pointsr/loseit
  1. Read the FAQ. It's full of useful information.
  2. Buy a scale. This one should probably work for you. http://www.amazon.com/Eatsmart-Precision-Bathroom-Technology-440-Pounds/dp/B0032TNPOE/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1348544133&amp;amp;sr=8-4&amp;amp;keywords=weight+scale+500
  3. Find your BMR.
  4. Always strive to burn more calories than you consume each day.
  5. Be patient. Though at your weight you should be able to lose weight pretty fast considering your bmr should be very high. Just be dedicated with your diet and you'll do well.
u/gigastack · 3 pointsr/loseit

First off, I don't believe that you're consuming 1400 calories per day, even if you 100% believe you are. If you were, you'd be losing weight even with no exercise at all. So the first thing I'd re-evaluate is how you're measuring your food for MFP.

Next up, I'm guessing that you are probably getting hungrier from all the intense exercise. Also, since bodymedia is estimating the thousands of calories you're burning, you figure you can "afford" to eat a little more. The thing is, you really can't trust the calorie burning estimates. And I would never adjust food intake based on exercise when you're trying to lose weight, you will fail.

I would suggest lower intensity exercise like bike rides and long hikes and more careful monitoring of your food. You will lose weight if you ACTUALLY eat 1400 calories and perform even light physical activities.

Once you begin to see a trend of weight loss, begin to add in the strength training and consume slightly more protein to compensate if you wish. This is not necessary for weight loss, but it can be nice for overall fitness.

Get a scale. Get some calipers too. Calipers can give a good idea of your bodyfat %, which will allow you to calculate your TDEE much more accurately. Calipers are cheap! These are less than $6.

u/thatguy142 · 4 pointsr/loseit

This scale is amazing. You can step on it 4 or 5 times and it will give the same exact reading every time. I've even tested it out by stepping on it, drinking some water, and then stepping on again. Sure enough, it registered another 1/2 pound. Highly recommended!

u/Penguin_Dreams · 2 pointsr/loseit

I got this one over a year ago and it's been great. It's inexpensive, very lightweight and compact, comes in a variety of colors, and the battery is still going strong even with daily use for my cat's food, baking, and dieting.

u/bigmanloseweight · 9 pointsr/loseit

If you really love the taste of peanut butter, I've heard good things about PB2. It's powdered peanut butter that has way less fat/calories- just mix it with water.

http://www.amazon.com/PB2-Powdered-Peanut-Butter-6-5/dp/B002GJ9JWS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1370324860&amp;amp;sr=8-1&amp;amp;keywords=PB2

Disclaimer: I haven't tried it myself.

u/sherfucked · 1 pointr/loseit

I want to start off by saying that expecting to lose 3kg a day is unrealistic.

You’ll only see long lasting/permanent results if you stick to the way of eating that you choose, this means no cheating, and seriously working on your relationship with food.

First, you need to calculate your macros and TDEE. A popular one is the IIFYM calculator. . You’ll need to eat at a caloric deficit, I think 20% is what people usually go for.

Eating lots of sugar and carb loaded foods means it’ll be hard for you to change the way you eat. You’ll basically go through a withdrawal period. That doesn’t mean that you should go back or give up.

Cut out carbs like soda, juice, and sweets. Try to stick to serving sizes when it comes to foods like bread, rice, and pasta. Make sure to weigh your food, and input everything you eat into a tracking app. It’s the most accurate way to measure how many calories you’re consuming in a meal. This scale is pretty popular.
Also, you may want to look into intermittent fasting. It’s another helpful weight loss tool.