F | 5’5 | 23 | CW: 207 | GW: 145 | SW: 238

I’ve struggled with my weight my entire life and i’m trying not to adopt this whole defeatist attitude I had a while ago. I’ve been at it for a year and have barely only lost 30 lbs, binging isn’t an issue anymore since i’m on ADHD meds. I eat clean, maybe i’ll have 1-2 cheat days a month, i’ve cut back on drinking to 1-2x every other weekend or so and only hard liquor. Last month I went a little off track since it was my birthday but I wasn’t too crazy. So my TDEE maintenance is about 2100-2300 depending on how much activity I get for the week. I’ve been eating anywhere from 1500-1800 calories. I used to have a binge/purge issue when I was younger and also did a lot of restrictive eating so I wanted to go about losing weight the right, gradual way but i feel mentally exhausted. I’m also realizing that tracking calories will always be a thing I have to be actively aware about, eating clean isn’t the problem it’s just having to watch like almost everything I eat.

At my skinniest I was practically starving myself and eating a meal a day. I feel frustrated because I know I shouldn’t starve myself but the urge is strong to just do OMAD— but then when i restrict, I binge. I try to eat 1-2 meals a day that are full of fiber, protein, and satiating, hell sometimes I can’t even finish my lunch and end up eating it for dinner. I’m gonna have to make some drastic changes because despite keeping at it for a year i’m not where I want to be.

I see slight results, my clothes fit a bit better, people say i’m slimming down but I know I can do a lot better. I feel disappointed and defeated when I see how much weight people lose in just a year and I get sad. I don’t want to give up yet but realistically I know i’m gonna have to kinda starve for dinner at times, or be ‘perpetually’ hungry until I lose more weight and it’s not an issue anymore. It also doesn’t help that I have a very sedentary job, I absolutely despise it and I try to move/stand/walk whenever I can because of this.

I’ve even contemplated going on a crash diet just for a month to help me. Nothing too crazy but 1200-1500 calories a day.

What is everyone’s birthdays like food wise? I cut out the whole year things like sweet treats,potato,sauces,anything pastry,butter,bread,rice,pasta cheese I know this sounds extreme but it works for me and my needs and I still really enjoy my eating lifestyle now basically my birthday is coming up and I want as I never get it fast food and some cake but i worry as foods in that area are so high I want to be able to enjoy myself but i don’t think I could deal with the guilt aftermath as apparently going over 3000 makes u gain a pound it’s becoming to make feel not excited for my birthday and dreading it how dose everyone else deal with they’re birthdays? (I apologise for my lack of grammer)

I’m currently working on losing weight, and I’m just under 300 lbs. I haven’t been traveling or doing a lot of walking activities because I’m out of shape and I can’t walk for very long. I’m tired after a shower. A concert in Atlanta in April has changed my traveling hesitation, and my mother and I are both looking to drop what we can and be more active to make it a better trip. I have my heart set on going to the Georgia Aquarium. We have the food part covered on how to lose, but is there anything we can do to help get us walking and moving around easier? Obviously we will be going on long walks every day. Are there ab/core exercises that would help? I also get a pain in my lower back, so I want to get stronger to help eliminate that, too. I won’t be anywhere near my goal weight, but I would love to just be able to stand and walk around in the aquarium! Any advice on how to get to that point quicker in addition to walking?

Is losing 2lb a week too big a goal? I read that healthy weight loss depends on your starting weight, but generally, 0.5-2lb can be healthy. Is 2lb too aggressive or healthy? I'm trying to lose 40lb over 20 weeks which would land me at a 2lb a week loss. I know slow and steady is key for a lot of people, but I find myself to be more driven/motivated when I tackle goals with a bit of intensity.

In terms of determining my deficit for a 2lb a week loss...would I subract 500 cals or 1000 cals from my tdee or my maintenance calories?

I need to actually work on my diet and eating better but I actually have zero idea how to cook. No one ever taught me how and I never needed to until now. I'd like to learn but I have no idea where to start and I wouldn't know where to find the right recipes cause any meals I have would need to be pretty low calorie (I have a 1700 daily calorie limit) and I'd have a pretty shitty time trying to properly portion anything I make.

I've gotten by ao far with just pre-made store bought stuff but I know that isn't healthy and I've hit a plateau in my weight loss journey so I know I need to start taking my diet seriously. Cooking, however, has always been daunting to me so I never learned.

Does anyone have any recommendations on where I could go to learn how to cook, specifically cooking low calorie meals and how to properly portion?

SW: 289 | CW: 257 | GW: 180 | Female | 23 | 5'7"

I officially met my first goal today! I am 30lbs down and feeling amazing. This group has been such a help along the way, so thank you!

I have been overweight for a long while but I don’t really know exactly how long. I was a competitive and collegiate cheerleader all throughout high school and college. I was always the biggest girl but the strongest and captain multiple years. I LOVED my time in cheerleading (it would still be my preferred way to workout if I still could lol). The first time I ever weighed my self was my sophomore year of college and I was 215. In my mind I had to keep myself there, and I did. However it screwed up my relationship with food. After I graduated in 2023, I just lost my self. I continued eating like I was a college athlete still and gained a ton. I eventually got up to my worst 289 in November 2024. I got some therapy fixed my relationship food, I still just feel like I’m lacking with working out. I feel sort of lost without cheer and am jumping around to different things that aren’t consistent.

My question is do any other former athletes have any advice about their process after leaving their sport? Or non-athletes, how did you find what you love. I want to love how I work out and move my body again. I have made big gains with completing my first goal today, but have so much more to do and would appreciate any help!

I'm currently taking a diet break for a week or two, after having lost 20lbs in 3 months. In hindsight, it was absolutely dreadful. The first half was bearable, but I'd say the last half was where I experienced awful low moods, low motivation, and just being in a desolate place overall. I absolutely believe I overshot for myself and suffered the consequences. That being said, what is your sweet spot for calorie deficit, and how do you feel on it? I'm definitely planning on doing a smaller deficit next.. maybe 250.. 300 if I can get away with it.

It's incredible how different I feel while getting adequate calories vs not. Goodness.

Hi guys, For the past 3months I have lost about 7-9 kilos while doing progressive overload. I recently moved and it has been so hard to keep going. Im halfway to my goal, but the food noice is so loud, and evertday I feel like i should treat myself even though I have no reason to. I either eat a lot of shit or is constantly hungry.

I feel like I’ve lost my discipline. I still do all my workouts and successfully overloads each session, but I dont see any differences.

While online I only compare myself to others and find someone to be jealous of…

If I go out of line I feel sad and guilty for the rest of the day. I feel like I’ve lost my ability to lose fat.

Has anyone expirienced this before? My days are filled with guilt and hunger, even though I try to be within my calorie budget evert day.

Day 2 of the Daily Accountability Challenge for February! 

Let’s talk goals. 

Log weight in Libra and share here: 375.1 lbs, 373.6 trend weight. 

Fruit or veg with every meal, dessert once a week: 🍐🍊🧅🧄 On it today. I had a shingo pear today, that was delicious! It’s dessert day!    

2,000-2,300 calories: On it, maintenance for cake day.  

Log tomorrow’s meals: This took forever because I did some meal planning for the week ahead but I got there.  

Don’t spend $ outside of preset weekly budget: Yep!     

Find a way to enjoy moving my body everyday: I had a very lovely walk and got a new bird for my life list, a Belted Kingfisher. 1/2 days.  

Today's gratitude or laugh list: Today, I’m grateful for feeling so much more myself. And for mental healthcare services. And days off work where I just get to exist instead of being pressured to perform. I laughed at so much random stuff today. Geese having beef. My cat being sassy. Other folks on the road making some choices.   

Meditate (sensory grounding) for 5 minutes to combat hyper vigilance: Yep and I'm going to hit this up before bed.  

Self-care activity for today: I got to have a walk at my favorite place today. I spent time with my partner. I will have time for face and hair mask and I started a new sketchbook. 👍 

Now, onto all you fabulous folks! Tell us about your day dos! 

Im at a point in my weight loss journey where I'm approaching the "final stretch". I've had to rework my diet/exercise a bit these past few weeks to break out of a plateau, but I feel like I'm starting to lose it mentally because of the situation I've put myself in.

Im 214.8lbs as of my last weigh in, and since I'm between jobs at the moment, and I can't force myself to do outdoor activity in the winter, my maintenance calories seem very low, about 2,150. Meaning, to lose a pound a week Im looking at 1,650 calories a day.

Here is my current activity levels: Monday, Wednesday, Friday: strength training

Tuesday, Thursday: 45 minute, max incline treadmill at speed 2

Saturday, Sunday: Weighted progressive overload ab training (Not a fast paced cardio session like most ab workouts are made to be)

Ive been fine fighting the hunger til now, but I feel like Im just not doing enough physically to warrant eating closer to maintenance. I dont want this final stretch to make me go insane.

I’ve started out with a deficit of 1750 but I find myself starving at the end of the day trying to squeeze my meals into it. I’m 5’3 140lbs trying to get to 130 but is this hunger at night a sign of a deficit simply being too large?

I thought that the smaller a person is there BMR is naturally lower and thought that 1750 might even be considerably high caloric intake for me. But here’s my physical activity in a week:

12/3/30 on days when I don’t play basketball or do jiu jitsu for cardio

Weightlifting 5-6x a week PPL

BJJ 3x a week but sometimes less Basketball 3x a week but sometimes less

Hi all, I’m pretty new here, 28(M) at 5ft 7in and currently 246.6lbs (down 9lbs so far over the course of two weeks!) with an eventual goal weight of 168 lbs.

I’ve always been quite heavy since I was a kid, and while I have had times where I’ve lost weight before, things kept getting in my way, from difficult periods in my life to physical conditions (namely Piriformis syndrome and a protruding disc in my L5). Finally had enough, and am attempting to lose the weight mostly through eating at a calorie deficit, and through walking (I’m a teacher so not much movement in the day, but I do walk 30mins each way to and from work 5 days a week). It’s worth noting that my weight isn’t mostly due to poor choices like junk foods, It was mostly about big portions of what would typically be considered good and normal meals.

I’m currently eating at 1800 kcal per day (calculated my TDEE at 2800 approx so working at a minimum of 2lbs per week), I know the first couple of weeks you lose quite fast, but the aim is 2lbs per week and to keep this going.

To cut to the chase, I’m already having a few issues. I started really strong, but towards the afternoon/evening I’m starting to struggle with my feelings of hunger and it’s bringing my emotions down. I’m so much more motivated to lose it this time around, but I also feel like I’m being too strict on myself in terms of going above my deficit limit to the point that it’s impacting my mood, even though I’m still eating food I enjoy (albeit just less). I know that mathematically, eating at maintenance once per week would mean I’m still losing, just at a slightly lower rate, but I’m feeling incredibly guilty even thinking about it. I don’t even know why I’m feeling guilty about it, but I cant help but just panic about it.

I suppose what I’m trying to get out of this post is any advice people have in maintaining weight loss for the long haul, and enough people to tell me its ok to actually convince myself that everything is actually ok. I’m a chronic worrier and am usually very pessimistic and negative towards myself, so i’m hoping to hear other people’s experiences of weight loss for inspiration, motivation and reassurance. Thank you for bearing with me in this post, and thank you in advance if anyone replies.

I'm a bit confused but calculated my maintenance calores at 1968, so I set my fitness pal to do 1700 calories for a gradual way to lose weight.

But it still feels very restrictive yet not enough.

I mean I was eating probably 3-4500 calories a day without realizing if try to count what I was consuming.

Will I really not lose weight at 2000 Cal a day?

I'm 31F, 270lb, 5'5 female with an at home job so sedentary basically.

I walk but I had a recent back flare up that's making it hard to walk.

Anyways it's just disheartening that even cutting calories in half is just maintenance.

But it explains why I've always struggled I guess. Kind of asking, kind of just complaining:(

Oh my god especially adding in trying to meat protein counts and vegetables, maybe I'm just bad at this but how do y'all do it that makes it feel balanced and normal

A bit of an odd post so I apologize in advance. I don't have a great relationship with food and am currently getting help for disordered eating. Also trying to lose the weight I gained by emotional eating without going back to restriction. I'm having a lot of trouble with the notion of calorie density. I tend to think that I need to be hungry all the time when trying to lose weight and this is triggering binges. I'm actively working on this but when I try to have a snack I start getting anxious and then I end up not eating the snack get too hungry and raid the fridge. It's weird because I'll have something like greek yogurt which seems very indulgent but isn't actually super calorie dense get anxious and the next day try to cut out the snack and then end up having a handful of nuts. Except the nuts has 3x the calories of the greek yogurt.

I know this is probably really simple to a lot of people here but for whatever reason it's been difficult to wrap my head around this. I guess I'm used to feeling a level of hunger (before the weight gain) and eating very small portions of higher caloric foods. Now I'm trying to have a better relationship with food but it's been difficult to get used to not being hungry and eating higher portions of lower caloric foods. Has anyone dealt with this before?

SW: 172.8 | CW: 162.4 | GW: 140; Female | 30 | 5'6"

I lost my first 10 pounds officially as of today and I couldn't be more grateful to this community for it.

I have been overweight for the past couple years, slowly gaining since COVID just due to working at home and not moving around while commuting, grabbing lunch... etc. I have tried to lose weight a few times before and I was NEVER able to stick to anything for more than a few days. I foolishly thought working out was the only way (and I despise working out and don't have a lot of time).

Finally because we have a family trip coming up this summer I decided to commit to counting my calories (after joining this sub!) and tracking via lose-it app on Dec 27th. And OMG it actually worked! AND it's not that bad. What's helped for me is I don't have any "off limit" foods or do "cheat days". If I am having chick fil a though I skip the fries and just eat the sandwich, or have a salad for dinner that day. Seriously just committing to the tracking has made me realize how many calories were in things that I didn't think about and just be more conscious about portion size and little bites here and there. Also makes me not drink as much alcohol which is a win too.

Other peoples posts like this really inspired me so I can't believe I am finally doing a happy post here. Thank you all!

SW: 172.8 | CW: 162.4 | GW: 140; Female | 30 | 5'6"

I lost my first 10 pounds officially as of today and I couldn't be more grateful to this community for it.

I have been overweight for the past couple years, slowly gaining since COVID just due to working at home and not moving around while commuting, grabbing lunch... etc. I have tried to lose weight a few times before and I was NEVER able to stick to anything for more than a few days. I foolishly thought working out was the only way (and I despise working out and don't have a lot of time).

Finally because we have a family trip coming up this summer I decided to commit to counting my calories (after joining this sub!) and tracking via lose-it app on Dec 27th. And OMG it actually worked! AND it's not that bad. What's helped for me is I don't have any "off limit" foods or do "cheat days". If I am having chick fil a though I skip the fries and just eat the sandwich, or have a salad for dinner that day. Seriously just committing to the tracking has made me realize how many calories were in things that I didn't think about and just be more conscious about portion size and little bites here and there. Also makes me not drink as much alcohol which is a win too.

Other peoples posts like this really inspired me so I can't believe I am finally doing a happy post here. Thank you all!

SW: 172.8 | CW: 162.4 | GW: 140; Female | 30 | 5'6"

I lost my first 10 pounds officially as of today and I couldn't be more grateful to this community for it.

I have been overweight for the past couple years, slowly gaining since COVID just due to working at home and not moving around while commuting, grabbing lunch... etc. I have tried to lose weight a few times before and I was NEVER able to stick to anything for more than a few days. I foolishly thought working out was the only way (and I despise working out and don't have a lot of time).

Finally because we have a family trip coming up this summer I decided to commit to counting my calories (after joining this sub!) and tracking via lose-it app on Dec 27th. And OMG it actually worked! AND it's not that bad. What's helped for me is I don't have any "off limit" foods or do "cheat days". If I am having chick fil a though I skip the fries and just eat the sandwich, or have a salad for dinner that day. Seriously just committing to the tracking has made me realize how many calories were in things that I didn't think about and just be more conscious about portion size and little bites here and there. Also makes me not drink as much alcohol which is a win too.

Other peoples posts like this really inspired me so I can't believe I am finally doing a happy post here. Thank you all!

I love this subreddit. Y'all are super helpful and I feel seen and welcomed here... Until I see you saying shit like "I hate how obesity is glamorized nowadays"! It breaks the bubble and makes me want to slap some of you!

It's not glamorized. It's humanized. Seeing successful people who happened to be fat/a fat character on TV not being reduced to comedy relief or to the glow up trope/Nike commercial with fat people on it... Those things won't make anyone suddenly fine with being fat, not truly. Those things are supposed to make you feel seen. Being seen makes it easier to be kind and respectful towards your own body. If you need to be bullied into losing weight then that's a strong signal that you're deeply unwell. The issue is inside of you. Not in a Nike commercial. I can sympathise, I'm not always kind to myself either. But get a grip.

Of course, once in a while (literally once in a blue moon lol) I see fat people on social media (influencers, shall we say) having this "I love my body so I don't wanna change it" type of mindset. But that only means they're not quite there yet either, on their self-love journey. That shouldn't be a reason to be vocal about being so vocal and careless with critique of body positivity movement.

Look what is happening among young people. Young women particularly. H3ro1n chic is coming at us again, a vile propaganda to keep us silent while government strips us off our rights. And you consider this less harmful that fat person saying that they don't plan on losing weight? Is it really a concern worth addressing right now?

Internalised fatphobia on this level makes my tongue itch to ask if thin people have picked you yet. Give it some thought before eating me alive here, please (especially considering how fat I am bruh)

Hi, I know this is not the sub for the lose it app but I am hoping someone can help. I want to make sure I am actually understanding my calorie deficit.

My target energy burn is 3,085, and with my goals my daily budget is 1,999. So that would mean if I eat 1,999 exactly my deficit that day is at 1,086.

Then using Wednesday as an example, I ate 1,664 calories, so 1,999-1,664=335 additional calories in deficit to take it to 1,421 calorie deficit.

Then, with my Fitbit synced which I know can be a bit inaccurate, during the day I burned 294 calories over my target energy burn, partially due to a workout that I did not log separately. So 1,421+294=1,715 total calorie deficit for the day.

Is this the correct way of looking at the math?

Hey, y'all. Firstly, I apologize for the crude language and negative self-talk. If you find that sort of text off-putting, I wouldn't advise reading further on. I don't really like myself as a person (especially not the way I look) and this post is kind of all about that.

I'm a bit shy to even make this post but I have been struggling with my weight for a long time and haven't gone to the gym for more than 6 years now, but I can no longer take being a fat fuck. Recently I started counting calories and implementing some daily exercise while using some apps to try and keep me motivated and.. I just stopped after two weeks. I've thought it over for sometime and, to me, it seems like it maybe because the 'motivation' I am going into weight-loss is just too fleeting. I'm doing it just to look better, to potentially be more attractive to other people. That's it. I hate dieting, I hate exercise but I want to not make myself cringe whenever I see myself in a photo or in the mirror.

Do you guys have any tips on what I could do to make myself stick to the process long enough to see results?

If your response is to just have more discipline, I would love to. I wish my idiot brain and body would just push through the process too.

I've been really trying to get back on being healthy and seeing if I can get abs for once in my life. But the body fat always fluctuates so much or sometimes doesn't move as much as I would like. I keep track of it just because I want to see how my weight and body fat fluctuate. I got a dexa scan a couple of months ago and it gain me like 32% or possibly even higher. I would have to find the email. And I was like...bescuse me!!! I just didn't think I had that much body fat on me. And if I looked online, which I know everyone is different in how they carry weight, but my body was nothing like it. I was much more skinner than the picture that showed 30% body fat. I have a body scale, Renpho, and I believe that I was around 20% body fat at the time.

Then I found out about the navy method. I was only only a little bit over 19% body fat.

I haven't had another dexa scan yet but I use my scale daily and I sometimes use the navy scale just to see how different it is sometimes. On the scale I was 19.6% body fat. But, yesterday, when using the navy I was 17.3% body fat (18% is the goal).

I want to be the most accurate but the dexa was so high and looked nothing like my body so I don't believe it was correct.

If you need measurements, I am, as of this morning: 101.6 lbs at 5 feet tall, hip is 83.8cm, waist is 59.7cm, neck Is 30.3 cm.

I bought the Renpho measuring tape to help get the numbers correct.

Which method seems the most accurate or which do you think is better for me to use?

A little about me. I am 5'7, broad framed. Even at the top of my healthy BMI, I look quite thin, but it can be hard for me to tell because my frame is so large.

I have also always had a very fast metabolism. This isn't the blessing it sounds like. It simply means that I need a lot more food than the average person my size. I have to be very careful not to overindulge. I have also been a heavy exerciser for most of my life.

Last year, I started indoor rock climbing. I hate lifting weights, but this sounded fun. Turns out I love it. I improved really fast, and the weight melted off over six months.

Then a few months ago everything got a lot harder. I had started tracking my calories a few years ago at 2500, planning to gradually cut them to 2000 as my appetite shrank. But I never got under 2200. Even then I stayed very hungry, so I eased my calories back up to 2400. Then I moved back to 2500. Then 2700. I was now eating more than when I started seventy pounds ago. And I was still ravenous. I had done everything I could think of to keep my diet healthy. 20%-40% protein, <20% fat, only whole grains, no added sugar. I'd stopped eating fruit and rice.

I also felt completely stalled out. For a number of reasons, I only go by clothing fit, and I usually only try on my benchmark clothes every few weeks. Since I had been losing weight rapidly, I could always feel a difference. But it started to seem like they weren't getting any looser. And my climbing stalled out as well.

The past two weeks were miserable. I was faint throughout the day, and my blood sugar kept crashing. Nothing seemed to be moving. The last straw was when I started getting weaker when I climbed. Based on some advice I got here, I decided that I needed to try significantly upping my calories. I have never, ever in my life thought I should eat more calories, and I was already eating so much. It felt scary, but I didn't know what else to try.

The past few days I've been over 3000. And STILL painfully hungry. I ate 800 calories three hours ago and as I write this, I feel faint.

But I decided what the heck, try on my goal clothes. They all fit. Shirts I could barely get over my head last year fit comfortably. A shirt that showed every lump and bump now hangs like a nightgown. I even have a little bit of muscle tone in my stomach.

I am still really confused by how my calories can be so out of line with what common wisdom says. I do exercise a lot, but it's not like I'm an Olympic athlete. I thought maybe something was wrong with me. So I'm not still not sure what to do, because deliberately eating 3300 calories feels insane. But I'm so happy! All this hunger and gym stall out felt like it was for nothing. But somehow it worked!

EDIT FYI, this isn't a recommendation to double your food intake. I'm at the far end of the bell curve. But if the particulars of your situation match mine -- have always needed a lot of food, and you exercise quite a bit -- perhaps this can help you.

I (22f) rlly want to get in shape and lose weight. Pre-covid i was the healthiest physically id ever been (not mentally but thats another story) and was consistently active. Covid put a damper in that..

this year i have a goal to FULLY jog a 5k, no walking or anything. I have never even ran a mile before but i wanted to push myself. Today the weather was beautiful so I decided to go to a local park and practice. Welp heres how it went:

5 min walking 1 min slowest jogging youll ever see BOOM - as soon as a started walking after the one min jog i fell over a curb into a parking lot.

Im so embarrassed… and i dont ever want to try again but now i feel like such a failure. Any advice for first time runner?

I am turning 30 in October. I want to lose 150 lbs by the end of the year but would like to have had a significant change in how I look by October. I am currently 319 (starting weight 330) and I am 5’5.

Is this doable and if so, what do I do? What workouts do you recommend? I am moving away from being sedentary so very much a beginner. I am eating in a calorie deficit and exercising but feel as if I am doing it incorrectly? I go to bed hungry which people say is a sign of one. Am I on the right track?

I just want to finally feel happy in my body and feel like the person I feel like I’m supposed to be. I spent my 20s miserable. I want to start my 30s confident and free.

Any advice or motivation welcome!

I’ve (31F) started working out with a trainer to lose weight, and we’ve been focusing on strength and resistance training.

Recently, I hit a new PR on the leg press (410lbs). I told some colleagues who frequent the gym about this and they were really surprised. They said it was impressive, but honestly, it didn’t really feel like an accomplishment to me.

I do think I’m stronger than the average woman, and even some men, but now I’m wondering if it’s just because I’ve been bigger most of my life. Basically, I wonder if I’m just “fat strong”. I know it takes mass to move mass, so maybe I’ve developed stronger muscles just as a result of being relatively active while weighing more..

Is that actually true though? Has anyone else here noticed they were stronger when they weighed more? If so, when you lost weight, did you feel like your muscles were weaker?

I mean no offense by my post by the way, I’m just curious if others have had similar experiences.

**Edited my wording so I don’t use certain gym jargon improperly. And thank you to those who expressed concerns about my safety while lifting. I feel very good about my trainer but will keep your advice in mind.

Ive been walking about 7000 steps every day and doing 30 minutes of exercises like push-ups, lunges, etc. Some days I go a bit over 7000 steps. A few people have told me that’s considered “lightly active,” but I’m not sure if that’s right.

I’m trying to figure out my maintenance calories so I can stay in a calorie deficit, and I’m wondering how I’d be classified on a TDEE calculator. Do you think my daily steps and workouts would count as lightly active, or would it be more on the “moderately active” side?

Any help with how to figure out my maintenance calories would be awesome.

How to tell if I’m sedentary or light exercise, for tdee calculator? I usually go on 1 hour walks like 3 times a week after work. Idk if that would qualify but I’m unemployed for the last month or so that has made me super sluggish and depressed bc of issues finding another job and it’s been really windy and cold here so I haven’t gone on a walk since. What can I do myself that can qualify as light exercise? I thought I was in a deficit this whole time because I’ve been on a 1,200 diet, telling myself it’s okay to occasionally eat a little over since I thought my maintenance was 1,500 but I just checked and now my maintenance says it’s 1,333. I feel horrible knowing that I struggled so hard to eat that many calories every day and maybe sabotaged myself if I thought that walking was enough before. just to know I don’t have a choice now because I have to eat that anyways. I just wanna be able to eat at least 1,500 to maintain

I’m 177 pounds, 27, 5’4. 4 years ago I was 190.

I’ve been on and off my fitness journey for years now. Depression and procrastination have kept me back, but not anymore .. im over wasting my life. But as soon as I really got serious about it end of October.. I broke my leg soon after. The break was on December 10th. The physical, but most importantly the emotional/mental toll this has had on me is comparable to hell. I’m so upset.

Before my broken leg, I was walking 10k steps a day, Pilates, light yoga, some weight lifting 115 grams of protein and eating 1600-1800 cals. I only lost 2 pounds in 2 months. I either wasn’t tracking correctly or my deficit wasn’t really a deficit. While I’m cleared to finally start doing upper body workouts and very light walking, I’m just confused on how to calculate my BMR, TDEE & deficit now. I’m not nearly as active and idk how long it’ll take for me to get back to it. Idk how many calories I’m supposed to eat now! I guess even if I move as much as I can, I’d be sedentary? I’d really appreciate it if anyone can help me figure out how much I need to eat considering my new norm.

I'm a newbie lifter and only seriously started going to gym since Jan 5th and tracking my macros.

For stats, I'm 5'7 167 lbs and work mainly a sedentary job so I really only get about 3-5k steps a day. I go to gym 5-6 times a week for push, pull, leg.

If I'm trying to get into shape by May for instance, that's about 4 months of training, Should I be focusing cutting and being in a caloric deficit since I am more overweight relatively speaking or should I be near my maintenance calories of ~2200 calories and "body recomp" since I'm still a beginner lifter?

I got some advice that I should body recomp, stay at 2200 calories, and do this for 12 months (essentially saying looking lean/toned by this summer is unlikely) while others told me since I'm a beginner lifter, just hit my protein goals of 150-160g of protein and weight train hard while being on a calorid deficit ie 1800-1900 and I'll see great progress if I do this consistently for 4 months.

Any thoughts? Thank you

I have been actively trying to lose weight my whole life. I went from 300 to 220, and back up to 250 (5’2 F) after letting myself slip during an extremely stressful negative time period. In October, I finally decided I had enough and needed to take back my life.

I have counted calories (1400-1700), added 30 mins of cardio ontop of my usual strength training. Despite my weight gain, I have remained in the gym. However, now I’m much more dedicated with ensuring I am doing 1 hour of strength training and 30 mins of cardio.

I weighed myself yesterday and have only lost 5lbs putting me at 245. I’ve gotten multiple compliments by regulars in the gym for noticing I’ve became stronger so I keep telling myself it may be muscle and recomp PLUS I’m on my period, but it feels like constant excuses. I’m getting so frustrated this go around because it seems as though my body isn’t losing weight as fast as it was 5-7 years ago.

Has anyone noticed that the pounds are coming off slower for the second go around for weight loss?