SW:275lb CW:228 GW:190 age:28 years old s:male heigh:5ft 10

Hello guys I just wanted to share advice and share my story that helped me and may help you guys. Of course everyone knows consistency is key and this is very true but building the habit is what’s difficult. Like many people I lost and gain weight all the time since I was a teen I never left the 200s and at the time I started at 26 years old I realized I can’t be doing that anymore the toll on my health was getting worse. I ate when I was anxious,bored, just cause I had the money to get fast food whenever I wanted. I was building terrible habits just to feel better for an hour or two. So here’s what I did

#1: Gym time/ no intention to lose weight.

-what I mean is that I went to the gym with no intention of losing weight. I just had to make sure I did 20 minutes whether it was walking on the treadmill or elliptical and here’s the thing I had to really start focusing on myself and ignore everyone around me. I had learn to be okay with feeling embarrassed (just fyi I’m still anxiety ridden every time I go but it’s much more manageable once I’m into my workout), after a month or so it went from 20 minutes to 30 minutes a day then to an hour. It was all gradual but again I wasn’t focused on weight loss I was focused on building a habit. This helps because I didn’t change my activity drastically from sitting to now working out for an hour within a day and then missing the next days cause I was sore and then beating myself up and eating my feelings again cause I missed the gym.

#2: don’t restrict your eating drastically

- I would like to say every one has different dietary needs I’m no doctor or dietitian. When I first kept trying to lose weight I just either fasted or restrict my eating so bad that I would just gorge on food later on that it just voided every thing I worked on. What I did to fix this is now I made sure I have high protein meals to feel full, if I knew I was going out to eat food with family or friends (which you can’t avoid no matter how hard you try) I ate a very light breakfast or lunch due to restaurant foods having high calorie foods, I would even order foods that are low calorie if possible though many restaurants don’t really have them but having a light lunch or breakfast helps put your mind more at ease and you won’t feel as guilty which is what you want. You do have to enjoy these outings because family and friends won’t be there forever so enjoy yourself.

#3: the scale is scary

- always always always weigh yourself first thing in the morning after using the bathroom. I hate the scale ,I had moments where it didn’t budge at all when I felt I did everything right and that is completely normal. Always take a minute and think did you really eat a deficit or did you just maintain? You have to be super honest and realistic with yourself and learn to take accountability. Quick reminder as you lose weight your TDEE gets lower as well. I started writing what I ate in a journal even if I ate a biscuit or two. If the scale is a bit high it could also be that you ate a high sodium meal the day before or your muscles are still retaining water after a workout. If the scale is still on a downward trend and it may fluctuate up and down a bit but again still on a downward trend you’re doing great don’t beat yourself up. But always take accountability. Food journals are honestly great as cliche as it sounds.

#4: it’s okay to have a rest/cheat day

-when I first started losing weight I thought cheat days were days I can eat anything I wanted and just lay about but I was wrong, you can have a cheat MEAL but you still have to eat below your tdee in order for the weight loss to continue. It’s a balance really, during your days off, but I’ve learned to take an active rest day where I just made sure I take a walk around a park or block clean the house a bit made sure I get some steps.

This is what helped me and believe me I still have days where I struggle but building good habits will help. You’ll have setbacks but take time to learn from it instead of feeling like you failed and there’s no point in trying. You’re worth it and I wish someone helped me push through it but this forum was a lifesaver for me and reading other people’s journeys.Don’t be afraid to ask for tips and guides. What worked for me may not work for you but it may inspire you to try something different. Thank you for your time reading my post.

I grew up in a household where anxiety doesn’t really make sense or they become frustrated and made me feel ungrateful for life and I should be thankful and pray on it, it hasn’t helped growing up with it so I try to hold it in. I’m sure in their eyes they’ve supported me and maybe they have done all they can do but just couldn’t grasp the idea of why people have it. I went to doctors about it and was told medications can manage it and it wasn’t something I was looking forward to. I tried finding therapy but felt reluctant because I just thought I’ll feel like such an idiot to complain or felt stupid for feeling this way , in my mind it’s just like “why is a man of 28 year old suffering from this be a man grow up”. My wife luckily has been supportive and when I have an episode she tries to use logic as to why I feel the way I do and it’s helped but it still burns in the back of my head. If I see or feel something out of the ordinary I start catastrophizing, I feel suffocated, I feel like I’m being tested everyday and for some reason I feel like my life is gonna get ruined. I have this guilty conscience that I don’t deserve what I have now I worry about every single thing out of my control. And then other days it’s gone but it slowly brews back up again just last what seems ages. And when my wife asks what’s wrong I think some days she gets frustrated even though she understands how crippling it can be. I don’t try to burden her on my bad days cause it can be exhausting it’s not fair on her either especially when she herself had a busy week there’s only so much someone can give. So I’m venting here. And I’m sorry for the rant maybe my situation isn’t as bad as yours but thank you for your time for reading.