What did you do to lose weight?

[bunnylightheart]

Wondering if someone is in a similar state. I’m 5’2 61kg/134lbs. It’s been 8 weeks since my fitness journey. I’ve been weight training 5 x a week with cardio then 8000 steps a day. I’m in a calorie deficit eating around 1300-1500 a day too with 120g protein goal. I sometimes do 18/6 fasting too when I feel like I’m too blaoted.

I don’t think I’ve made any progress. My scale has hardly moved (I know we shouldn’t look at the scale!) but my measurements haven’t improved either. Just wondering what are other people doing that I’m not? I know every body’s different but just curious in case I can do something more to actually see a difference!

 

[mmeyers8181]

@bunnylightheart 8 weeks? You're still a baby beginner. It may take 8 months, 18 months, depending on your goals. The idea is to turn fitness as a lifelong lifestyle. Have patience and enjoy the ride. Don't lose joy while living your life. Sleep! I cannot stress this enough. Sleep is a game changer for me, as well as supplements like magnesium, collagen, iso whey protein, and creatine.

 

[zastari]

@bunnylightheart All you need to do to lose weight is eat in a consistent calorie deficit for long enough that you lose the amount of weight you desire. Steps and exercise helps put you in a deeper deficit

 

[bunnylightheart]

@zastari Thank you! Maybe I’m just being impatient

 

[tabithamarie93]

@bunnylightheart The higher the weight the easier it is the lose it! Since you’re 5’2 and 134 pounds I’d say it’s gonna feel like forever but you’ll get there.

 

[zastari]

@bunnylightheart I definitely struggle with patience!

 

[rachelcheyenne]

@zastari You don't have much to lose either so that means an even slower loss is preferable. I am 154cm and currently 47-48 kg. Took me 3 and a half months to lose 3kgs. Enjoy the ride and develop sustainable habits that you'd be able to stick to in the long run

 

[vapedensity]

@bunnylightheart Hey! How consistent have you been with intermittent fasting? I was in your shoes a year ago and started intermittent fasting in July and got results instantly. I now regret not doing a fasting insulin test at the time, but the discovery of 2 skin tags leads me to believe that I was insulin resistant. I've remained consistent with fasting and look forward to making this a permanent lifestyle.

I'd suggest having your doctor check your fasting insulin and glucose so you can figure out if that's your issue. If you're insulin resistant, your body will not burn fat. A recent blood test showed my fasting insulin at 4.6 and my HOMA-IR score indicates that I am now insulin sensitive, so it's possible to turn things around in a few months.

 

[bunnylightheart]

@vapedensity Omg wow this is the first time I’ve heard of something like this! I have skin tags everywhere esp my neck and face I’ve only started to incorporating fasting into my diet about 2 weeks ago.

 

[vapedensity]

@bunnylightheart If you're able to go to the doctor, please get a fasting insulin test and a fasting glucose test. Insulin resistance is one stop on the road to pre-diabetes and eventually diabetes, so there's time to catch it early and make changes. Your glucose can still be normal while this happens and this causes some doctors to dismiss requests for further tests.

The face and neck seem to be popular locations for skin tags, but mine are on the fold between my upper and lower arm and one on my stomach. I've had the one on my arm for a while now and I stupidly thought it was genetic because one of my aunts has one and of course, she's Type 2 diabetic.

 

[bunnylightheart]

@vapedensity I see. This is so interesting. How are you managing it now and how are you able to lose weight now?

 

[vapedensity]

@bunnylightheart I've found fasting to be pretty easy to manage because of the benefits like not being hungry and getting full with less food than before. The lack of hunger makes it so much easier because you're not even tempted to eat. There are several days where I don't even eat up to 8pm. My last meal might be 5 or 6pm and I don't get hungry again. I know it sounds weird, but you have to experience it personally to understand.

I fell off from exercising last October when I got Covid and only started back last month, but I maintained my weight of 154 consistently from October to February. Now that I'm back exercising and eating Paleo meals, I'm losing weight again.

It helps that I work from home 3 days a week and don't have any children, so I don't get distracted by anyone else's food. Also, my mom never gave me snacks or soda as a child, so I thankfully never developed those habits and didn't need to overcome desires for those types of food.

 

[bear78]

@vapedensity Wow! Thanks for sharing

 

[abacb07]

@vapedensity Hi! Can you share your fasting regimen? Also, I’m curious if you took other measures to regain insulin sensitivity. Like cutting down on carbs? I’m trying to figure out how to handle this myself.
Thanks for sharing!

 

[vapedensity]

@abacb07 Hi! I do 16:8 and fast from 8pm to 12 noon. To help with insulin sensitivity, yes I cut down on carbs as well. I started eating Paleo meals for lunch and dinner, but breakfast is usually homemade granola and 2 scrambled eggs.

For exercise, I do Caroline Girvan workouts at home and I'm going to resume Lagree workouts twice a week when I get to 145 pounds (my goal is 130).

For transparency, when I first started fasting back in July, I was still getting stuff from Starbucks multiple times a week (strawberry acai and croissants etc) and was still losing and maintaining weight loss consistently.

The realization that the 2 things I saw on my skin were skin tags freaked me out and led me to get the tests done at the doctor last month. Since then I've also cut out Starbucks and switched to a new Paleo meal plan that gives me more nutrition details about my meals.

I was previously using a local company, but they got too pricy for me and I also couldn't see the calorie count or protein info for each meal. I just switched over to Pete's Real Food and their meals come with a nutrition label.

 

[imperatorf4]

@bunnylightheart I am in your exact same spot. 5,2. 134 lbs. I am Struggling to drop ANYTHING. I’ve been trying to be in deficit since Jan 8. And the scale has barely moved. If I have even one night of “eating more”, I go up to 136! I exercise at least 4-5x a week and shoot for 1350 calories.
Idk what to do either. Just here to say I’m in your boat and if you find a solution ;please share and I’ll do the same.

 

[vesper1977]

@imperatorf4 Replying this because I was in you and OP’s boat. 163cm (so around 5’2-5’3) and 61kg/134lbs. Now down to 56kg.

What worked for me was — on top of exercise 4-5x/week — was making sure I moved throughout the day. All the NEAT calories rly added up. I also had to make sure I didn’t give in to the hunger after exercise and still eat as normal. Had to cut as low as 1200cals/day though. It’s hell for us shorties unfortunately.

Also I lost 5kg in 6 months, it’s a slow and long journey lol. I feel like I picked up some good habits along the way though

 

[imperatorf4]

@vesper1977 Thank you! Going to try to stick to 1200. I hope I get used to the hunger. It’s very low for me!
I go to dinner once a week and need to be careful on the weekend too. This gives me hope!!!

 

[balkec]

@imperatorf4 I think you should get 15,000 steps a day

 

[posseng]

@bunnylightheart I'm a similar height/weight to you. I'm 5'3" and 130 pounds. I have been active for only 6 weeks and while I haven't lost any weight I've lost 1" in the waist. Try using a measuring tape to see results! I honestly don't see a difference in the mirror but taping doesn't lie.

I'm doing less exercise and lower intensity of exercise than you. I've been doing pilates once weekly since February, but have stopped for two weeks because of the studio moving/ renovating temporarily. I'll lift at the gym very sporadically, maybe once every one to two weeks, when I really want to break a sweat. Mostly I've been doing cardio walking 45 minutes and jogging 15 minutes 4 times a week, followed up with some body weight exercises at home.

I don't really track steps, calories or macros either, just focus on getting 100g a protein a day and increasing fiber. I'm aiming for progress and not perfection, as I don't wanna burn out.