Beginner Fitness/Weight Loss Tips?

[macr0s]

For someone who struggled with weight loss for many years to losing 28kg/61lbs.
- The best advice I can offer is track your food with an app that is simple such as; Myfitnesspal, try and find out what your daily calorie intake is and lower it by 200-300.
- Walking is your best friend; if you can manage 10k steps a day then work up to 12k or so it'll do you wonders.
- Once you are feeling confident you can start doing some resistance training or weight training 3-4 days a week.
The main thing here is just lowering food intake, track what you eat over 1-2 weeks and try to eat similar daily if possible.
You got this though!! It's an awesome and hard journey but the rewards are so worth it, good luck!

[Patamon]

Like what many people said, start off small.

You don't have to make drastic changes. The most important thing to remember is to make small changes to your existing routine. Don't follow diet plans or exercise plans. The plan that works the best is the one that you enjoy along the way.
Drastic changes just lead to giving up easily and bouncing back harder than before because of revenge binging. I've been down that path and screwed up 6 months of progress before.

1. Go with a 30 minute walk every other night after work around your neighbourhood.
2. Slowly turn that into a 15 minute run after 1-2 weeks.
3. Swap 2-3 of your meals per week with healthy options or cut the portion in half
4. Fill your pantry with healthier snacks like nuts instead of chips (has to be things you enjoy still)
5. Find any sports/classes in your area that you might enjoy (yoga, dance, basketball, tennis etc) and join a class
- It's easier to stay motivated when you have people around and it'll help expand your social circle with people of the same interests
6. Continue to make more changes by cutting out unhealthy things and replacing them with healthier options
7. Slowly it'll get easier as you get fitter and more adjusting to the small changes

Remember, SMALL STEPS!!!

Ahh this is is actually something I needed and sounds very doable! I think I've gone through the revenge binging for sure because in the past my approaches were always too hardcore for me and It's definitely getting harder and harder to come back. Thank you so much for taking the time for help me out ^^

[kalez]

Drastic changes just lead to giving up easily and bouncing back harder than before because of revenge binging. I've been down that path and screwed up 6 months of progress before.

On drastic changes, some people can tolerate it, but generally unless you have a very strong willpower I will also not recommend to do it like that.
Very good points on the snacks needing to be something you enjoy. If it doesn't blend into your usual routine, you will eventually drop it.
Someone I know was able to cut weight by pretty rapidly shifting out refined/processed and just extra sugars out of their diet.
First thing to go was soda, replaced with water and occasional fruit juice. Next was white bread and rice being replaced with brown/wholegrain variants, etc.
I believe it was around 40 pounds in 2-3 months, but they are incredibly strict with themselves and were able to stick with it.
EDIT: They also were following some exercise plan.

Not really any plan or tip here, just reinforcing the point that it has to be something you can agree with mentally - if you do it begrudgingly as soon as you stop you'll go back to your old ways and probably gain weight back.

[anfitria]

Heey!

I know there is a lot great information shared here already, but since this is a topic that I love to talk about, I just want to add my tips. (From someone who has being overweight since 5 years old and finally managed to loose over 50 pounds)

First of all: any progress is good progress. Done is better than perfect. Don't be too attached to scale. If you can't do any exercise today or if you eat a huge fast food meal on Saturday, you still doing great. Don't worry about those little things.
And most important: don't compare yourself to others, that's not fair with you. Compare you with the old you.
Also, yes! There is a lot of information out there and most of the time they contradict itself, which can be very overwhelming. Just find what works for you and stick with that.
I have been fighting eating disorder all my life, and I just wish that I knew these things earlier.

So, that said, here what I did to lose weight and maintain:
- Exercise: Any exercise is great, even a small walk, or maybe playing Just Dance at home. But weight lifting is bomb. Not only helps you lose weight by exercising, but also build muscles that will help you in the long-term. (If you have access to a gym, you can also find a few starter programs for free on internet)
Avoid those crazy workout programs you see on Youtube that seems impossible to follow. You will only get frustrated. Instead, try to find something that you actually enjoy.
It is harder at the beginning, then you get used to, and it turns into routine.
- Increase protein intake: this is how you will feel more satisfied in each meal. Aim for at least 20g of protein each meal. (i.e. 2 eggs + 1 egg white on breakfast, 100g of cooked meat on lunch, protein shake for snack and more 100g meat for dinner).
- Test healthy and protein recipes! There are a lot of great recipes out there. Every time I crave for something different, I try a new healthy recipe. It's fun and helps me stick to the plan.
- Do small replacements: ie. change full fat milk to non-fat or vegetable, do your own hamburger at home, find a healthier bread option, etc.
- Follow inspiring people on social media (careful for this one, try to follow realistic ones)

Things that are always on my grocery list:
- Eggs, egg whites, greek yogurt, berries, meat, vegetables, spring mix salad, protein pancake mix, almond milk, quick oats, protein powder, pb, diet coke and cottage cheese.

I have maintained a healthy lifestyle (with ups and downs) for 4 years now after losing 50 pounds. I even created an Instagram to document it haha

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out.

[Patamon]

Heey!

I know there is a lot great information shared here already, but since this is a topic that I love to talk about, I just want to add my tips. (From someone who has being overweight since 5 years old and finally managed to loose over 50 pounds)

First of all: any progress is good progress. Done is better than perfect. Don't be too attached to scale. If you can't do any exercise today or if you eat a huge fast food meal on Saturday, you still doing great. Don't worry about those little things.
And most important: don't compare yourself to others, that's not fair with you. Compare you with the old you.
Also, yes! There is a lot of information out there and most of the time they contradict itself, which can be very overwhelming. Just find what works for you and stick with that.
I have been fighting eating disorder all my life, and I just wish that I knew these things earlier.

So, that said, here what I did to lose weight and maintain:
- Exercise: Any exercise is great, even a small walk, or maybe playing Just Dance at home. But weight lifting is bomb. Not only helps you lose weight by exercising, but also build muscles that will help you in the long-term. (If you have access to a gym, you can also find a few starter programs for free on internet)
Avoid those crazy workout programs you see on Youtube that seems impossible to follow. You will only get frustrated. Instead, try to find something that you actually enjoy.
It is harder at the beginning, then you get used to, and it turns into routine.
- Increase protein intake: this is how you will feel more satisfied in each meal. Aim for at least 20g of protein each meal. (i.e. 2 eggs + 1 egg white on breakfast, 100g of cooked meat on lunch, protein shake for snack and more 100g meat for dinner).
- Test healthy and protein recipes! There are a lot of great recipes out there. Every time I crave for something different, I try a new healthy recipe. It's fun and helps me stick to the plan.
- Do small replacements: ie. change full fat milk to non-fat or vegetable, do your own hamburger at home, find a healthier bread option, etc.
- Follow inspiring people on social media (careful for this one, try to follow realistic ones)

Things that are always on my grocery list:
- Eggs, egg whites, greek yogurt, berries, meat, vegetables, spring mix salad, protein pancake mix, almond milk, quick oats, protein powder, pb, diet coke and cottage cheese.

I have maintained a healthy lifestyle (with ups and downs) for 4 years now after losing 50 pounds. I even created an Instagram to document it haha

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out.

Thanks so much for the helpful information! The way you broke down protein intake is actually really nice because it makes it sound really simple. I also appreciate the grocery list! I've started shopping for a lot of the things you have listed, but there are a few more you wrote that I can definitely add

[♥ lint ♥]

Hey, thanks for sharing!! I've definitely been on a rollercoaster of a journey when it came to weight loss and body image, so definitely a shared experience! When I was in my 20's, I kind of just fell into that cardio trap of eat less and do lots of cardio to lose mass off of me and fast. It seemed straightforward, but it was really hard to be consistent and maintain. I lost a lot of weight and liked how I looked and felt, but the issue was that I basically stayed in the mindset of exercise as much as possible and still eat in a calorie deficit which wasn't sustainable. TOTALLY agree about there being SO much information and it's hard to sort thru because people are always trying to sell you something.

Then the pandemic hit and I gained weight and reached the highest weight I had been in the last like 8 years. I tried to start getting fit again when I turned 30, but then I injured my back pretty terribly which pinched my sciatic nerve that essentially rendered me paralyzed for about 2 weeks. It was the worst thing I ever went thru in terms of pain and I never again wanted to feel that weak/useless. The doctor told me I need to get stronger and build muscle mass to prevent that kind of injury in the future. I said "say less" and threw myself into powerlifting and never looked back. I had NO IDEA about powerlifting, but a new barbell gym opened in my town and it intrigued me.

At the end of the day, as generic as it sounds, small CONSISTENT steps is all it takes. When I got into powerlifting, I hired a coach and I told myself to trust the process for 6 months and do exactly as coach said because at this point, I was just focused on not getting injured again, so aesthetics was no longer the goal. I only tracked protein since I needed to make sure I was eating enough of that to grow and recover my muscles. I STILL lost fat eating whatever, but prioritizing protein. Even my coach noticed about 3-4 months in and said my legs were looking leaner and my quads were poppin'. Once I had my lifting routine down and felt comfortable with the movements, I started to add a little light cardio like taking walks or jog a little and then maybe generally look at my calories and think about eating more veg etc. I've lost my "pandemic weight" for sure, but the best part is when people who haven't seen me in a while look at me or hug me and say "whoa you look/feel strong." Even a pretty fit guy that I met at work that I became friends with who had only known me for like 2-3 months said I was "fit AF" and he's only hugged me a few times, but I guess my shoulders or arms must be more lean/cut than the average person? I used to think I had to look a certain way, but now I'm just proud of the work I've done to get stronger and aesthetic benefits are a nice to have but not need to have. For example, I've ALWAYS been weak with my upper body compared to my lower body. I could NEVER do any push ups EVER. After doing barbell benches for a while, I tried push ups again and now I can do them!!!

My advice is:
- Pick one thing to focus on improving and becoming CONSISTENT with it FIRST
- build that habit then add another thing to build on
- Maybe take a nutritional class (community colleges, online classes, etc.) to learn the basics of how food functions in the body
- taking a SCIENCE based approach will help sift thru all the influencer "I can get you this body in X weeks" content
- Take time to explore different types of exercises that YOU will enjoy
- this will make it easier to stay consistent with it...I killed myself with cardio and hated it, but did it to lose weight and it was just such a drag
- consistently moving your body is what matters
- Balance is KEY when it comes to fitness and nutrition
- I ate candy or cookies or chips etc. and still lost weight/fat
- Beware influencers legit tryna sell you stuff!

The guy who runs my gym is on social media and he makes it a huge point to not "sell you" and gym gimmicks and tries to be as straight forward as possible with tips and advice. He jokes that he'd have more followers if he did that. He doesn't ever want to sell programs or supplements, so he's always offering help to people. He used to be really fit, then gained a lot of weight, then the pandemic hit and he went thru a really rough time with it, but decided to get healthy again and got pretty jacked. You can see his post about that here: (you need an account to see links)
He also has a YouTube channel with mostly lifting tips, but talks about fat loss too and keeping it simple:

I like that he emphasizes simplicity. Of course we'd all like a short cut to getting fit, but at the end of the day, it takes time and if you're patient, you're more likely to remain fit. I lost weight hella fast and gained it all back pretty quickly because I wasn't trained on how to SUSTAINABLY lose weight.

Idk if any of this is even helpful lol, but just wanna say I can totally relate and I struggled for YEARS to fine sustainability in diet and exercise, but mostly to actually be happy with myself and my body. I'm in the best spot mentally and physically that I've ever been in and I found that simplifying as much as possible and ignoring the influencer chatter got me here. Hope you can find a happy spot in your journey to keep going! It takes time; just be patient! We all start somewhere and I remember how depressed I felt at the peak of the pandemic with my weight gain. I never thought I'd get to where I am now and am just so happy I didn't quit! Happy to discuss more and hope to get some updates from ya in the future to see how it's going for you!!

[DrixlRey]

Everything here is spot on. I don't know if anyone mentioned mental health though. Why are you eating? Are you eating because you're bored? Happy? Sad? For me it's all of the above. You have to change your relationship with food, as well as your relationship to yourself. If you love yourself, why would you continue to eat over calories? Why are you addicted to the food? If you answer these questions, that helps too. It helped me.

I guess my Cookie Monster avatar doesn't help, lol

[♥ lint ♥]

Everything here is spot on. I don't know if anyone mentioned mental health though. Why are you eating? Are you eating because you're bored? Happy? Sad? For me it's all of the above. You have to change your relationship with food, as well as your relationship to yourself. If you love yourself, why would you continue to eat over calories? Why are you addicted to the food? If you answer these questions, that helps too. It helped me.

I guess my Cookie Monster avatar doesn't help, lol

The Cookie Monster avatar is a good reminder to treat yourself once in a while!

[DrixlRey]

The Cookie Monster avatar is a good reminder to treat yourself once in a while!

I used him because I have the same goofy personality lol