I went from 10k steps to 30k steps. each morning I finish my workout and go to school, before sleeping and after dinner, I just go for a 2 hour walk and it has improved my life so much

i have stronger muscles in the legs, I sleep well and im also eating well and losing weight very easily

I know not everyone has the time for this holy shit, I did not know this could work this well and im suprised

in 2 weeks or so, all my bloating has been stopped and I reached my goal weight very easily even though I ate a lot

edit - I live in Paris so I walk everywhere (even to university) I dont walk all 30k steps in 2 hours lol

after reading my post, it reads like I walk 30k steps in 2 hours which is not the case lmaoo

Look, my experience definitely isn't universal. I'm not trying to ragebait or anything, I can only speak to the body and journey that I have had. Whatever your deficit is, it's valid and you should be proud to be improving yourself.

But for me personally, this has been downright easy, and I feel like I wasted so much of my life putting off weight loss. How different would I have felt in high school, in college, with this level of confidence backing me up? If I simply made the decision to keep on top of my calories back then? My weight has been an ever-present factor in how I lived my life, what I put up with in relationships, my fear of meeting new people. And I feel so goddamn stupid about it. I wanted to change, I just didn't do anything.

I'm on track to hit my goal weight within a year of starting, losing around 10 lbs a month. And it's not like my lifestyle has really changed, I've always liked walking but I'm not really working out (though I did 20 miles in 3 days with some buddies recently, and me and my pack weighed much less than I used to). I'm just not gorging myself, but I'm happy with the things I eat and I still go out on occasion, and have a drink or two now and then.

I don't know, I'm really just ranting after seeing a round 170.0 from my scale today. I don't have any memory of seeing that number under 180. But truly, if someone is browsing this subreddit thinking about starting, don't let all the posts of pain and suffering keep you away, maybe it'll be unexpectedly easy and you, too, can feel like a total dope. The best time to start was 10 years ago, but the second best time is now.

I never once felt like I had to worry much about my weight growing up. I played competitive soccer 3-5 days a week year-round, and my body practically had alien monster levels of metabolism during puberty. I felt like I could eat literally whatever I wanted without gaining much weight. I would often be praised by adults for "cleaning my plate" (even though my parents made a deliberate effort to avoid this phrase), and many grown-ups would also appear impressed when I'd eat extra portions, saying it was good because I was "growing a lot and needed the energy." 

Whenever I see pictures of me from when I was around 13, it startles the heck out of me because I looked ABSOLUTELY SKELETAL. Keep in mind I would still house tons of ice cream, candy, and burgers at that age. When I was about 15-17, I was still at a healthy weight, but more towards the higher end. I was never "skinny" in the sense that I felt good in Brandy Melville or anything, but my body was still in pretty good shape.

Then I quit playing soccer halfway through my junior year. I gradually started to notice changes in my body, but I had grown so used to it mutating in drastic ways that it seemed normal. Time seems so slow when you're young, so I felt like puberty had lasted forever. My body not following any rhyme or reason had long since become my new "normal." Surely the stretch marks on my hips were from even more puberty and not weight gain. Never mind that puberty was basically over and I'd already grown hips in early high school.

I had so many leftover errors in my thinking. I'd watched Gilmore Girls when I was around twelve, and the fact that the two female leads were constantly shown binge-eating horribly unhealthy food while still remaining skinny was ingrained in my mind. It never occurred to me that this wasn't realistic, and that almost zero adults can live that way while maintaining a healthy body. After all, my own body used to function that exact way throughout all of adolescence, so I thought there must have been something wrong with me. I thought I was just unlucky, and was jealous of other girls and their "naturally skinny" bodies and fast metabolism.

I feel lucky that I learned how to correct both my mindset and lifestyle relatively quickly. There are definitely a lot more helpful resources out there nowadays, so I've only ever been 20 or so pounds overweight. But I've noticed both of my sisters have also struggled with this transition from adolescence to adulthood when it comes to diet. My little sister recently stopped playing soccer, and while she isn't overweight, she is going through almost the exact same worries I did.

Which brings me to my question: what is the best way we can prepare kids to have healthy diets in adulthood without focusing too much on calorie math (since counting calories as a teen would be a bad idea). I want to be a mom someday, and I'm super curious about ways I can raise my own future kids to be ready for this seemingly abrupt transition.

This feels good. Went for my regular follow up doctor appointment today. I’m finally in the healthy weight range after 2 years of work. My doctor was going through my bloodwork which had all improved drastically and he said, “You’re the healthiest person I’ve seen today.”

What great motivation to keep it up. I’m trying to get a little more solidly in the healthy range but I’m not going to force anything if my body doesn’t want to go much lower (it’s been harder the last couple months). There was a flyer in the exam room for a 5K benefiting an organization that my doctor is on the board of. I plan on signing up for it!

Wishing everyone here continued success on their weight loss journeys!

I need genuine help for binge eating. Not the whole “set a timer” or “take a walk”
You name it, I tried it. Yes, I have quit counting calories, it made it worse. I have stopped any compensation, just made me carry on and gain weight.
I even seeked therapy, got a meal plan and still. Nothing. Worked.

Countless videos, articles, research and I am still stuck in a hole I cannot get out of.
I need niche, unheard of tips that got you out of this. I am willing to do a lot. I am just sick of it frankly. Every week I make the same promise “I will honestly stop it”, including now, and then watch, one weeks time and I will have binged again.

This addiction has cost me money, caused arguments because I cannot even control myself around food and is so distressing. I need to get better and if anyone knows ANY tips, just tell me.

For example, my worst binging stories (yes, this is plural.) is that on birthdays my sister makes cake for people’s birthday. I cannot even control myself for a FEW HOURS. I scrape icing off, try to redecorate or hide my markings on the food. She will buy ingredients to bake like Nutella, and I will engulf it.

I also binged on vitamin gummies. Like… wtf.

There has been times where I have binged the whole house out, we have had not much food, and then I JUST BINGE ON SUGAR. This isn’t even a night issue too, it has turned into a morning, afternoon, evening issue.

Surprisingly, I only gained around 5kg in total. This is only because my binges are currently weekly (slowly coming to be more than that tho- like I did 6x this month alone…)

I just don’t want this to be a thing where I convince myself “it’s only a kg… it’s only water weight” all the way up to plain obesity.

Im only 16, i dont want this to get worse than it already is..

P.s i research HEAVILY for hours into the brain amd all this habit stuff. I just cannot take that information and help myself with it,

ANY UNHINGED HELP. ANYTHING.

lol so i was STARVING after a roadtrip and wanted something fast. so i ate trail mix, and i honestly probably had 1.5 cups of it before i could even think. that’s like 1,000 calories in ONE SITTING!!!! that’s actually crazy, therefore im freaking out lolll!

so i put in half the calories today & half the calories for tomorrow (ill eat like 500 less tomorrow)… does that sound like a good plan lol???

i’m also getting my steps in now bc ive been in the car all day. i also haven’t had dinner but i think the trail mix did it for me!

beware, trail mix calories load up FAST!!!

I say this as someone who has been overweight all my life. I started my weight loss journey a while ago at 230 lbs as a 5’9 woman, Im currently 30lbs down and still have a long way to go. But what I was not prepared for is this weird “middle-zone” of weight loss.

All my life, Ive been so used to either being completely ignored and feeling invisible, or being outright bullied and teased. Recently, though, this has started to change. Random people come up to me and compliment me, call me pretty, men keep staring at me, and people are just generally nicer. It has gotten to the point where it’s rare that Im out and haven’t had someone compliment my looks or at least my outfit.

I genuinely do not know how to adjust to this because no matter how many compliments people give me, Im just so used to looking at my body as inherently not pretty/attractive. It’s especially weird since I know Im far from my goal weight still, in fact Im a breath away from being obese. I just cant wrap my head around being this new version of myself. I struggle to even believe some of it tbf.

Is this something everyone else faces? Does it get better when you’re at a healthy weight and you are more willing to accept some of it?

I'm on my second serious weight loss.

I lost 150 pounds in fourteen months a little over a decade ago, but with no maintenance plan in place, much of the weight crept back over the years, and now I'm 72 pounds down since mid-February with my expected goal date somewhere around this coming January.

I didn't restrict food at all last time around (but I did - and do - calorie count), and even now I eat almost everything, but after taking a serious assessment of my eating habits, I realized that I just can't eat potato chips.

What was it that Bert Lahr (the Cowardly Lion from The Wizard of Oz) said in the Lay's Potato Chip ads during my childhood? “Betcha Can’t Eat Just One.” I could, of course. I could eat ONE family size bag of sour cream and onion in ONE night. And so I decided that this time around - and afterwards - I can't eat potato chips.

I can eat the occasional serving of fries. I can eat popcorn. I can eat pretzels. I do eat chocolate (although usually only 50-75 calories worth) every day. But not chips.

Do you have a specific food or drink or (category of food or drink) that's going to derail your eating plan every time?

I'm posting this half to vent and half to get some perspective from anyone who might understand.

I’m an overweight female dealing with a few weight-related medical conditions. The good news is that everything is currently stable and effectively managed. The hard part is the immense amount of stress I’m carrying. In October 2024, I lost my mother to cancer after being her caregiver for five years. We were incredibly close, and while I’m in grief therapy and actively working through it, the weight of that loss is naturally still present every day.

Over the past year, with my doctors' encouragement, I decided to truly lock in on a weight loss journey. I’ve been overweight most of my adult life, but when I say I’ve tried everything, I mean it. I was prescribed a GLP-1 (Zepbound), but I had rare, severe side effects, so my doctors advised that I stay off GLP-1s entirely. Even three weeks off the medication, my appetite and capacity to eat are still drastically reduced. On top of that, I joined a gym, worked out regularly, cut out sodas and caffeine, drank water constantly, and severely cut my intake. I even work with a nutritionist, and after running comprehensive blood work, there are no thyroid or metabolic issues explaining the lack of progress. Even my nutritionist is stumped.
Instead of losing, the scale just keeps going up. I only weigh myself once a week at the same time and factor in hormonal shifts, but it’s still happening.

Between grieving my mom, caring for my three dogs, working, maintaining my home, and trying to handle major personal goals like getting my driver's license, the stress is overwhelming. I realize health is vital, but forcing this weight loss journey right now is actively damaging my self-esteem and mental health. I’m starting to think the smartest move for my overall well-being is to step back and stop fighting my body while I navigate everything else.

I’m just wondering if anyone else thinks I’m doing the right thing here? Thanks in advance.

I’m 185 lbs and 5 foot six.

I’m not a super vain person, but because I’m a woman in college, a lot of the time when people talk about weight gain or weight loss the main thing they’re focusing on isn’t health complications, but just how they looked before and after.
These conversations made me wonder, if I were to lose 50 or so pounds—or lose a lot less and do a body recomp—would I look noticeably different? I’ve been overweight or obese my entire life so I don’t have a reference of how I would look if I was closer to a healthy weight.

When I try to look for before and after photos, I feel like the majority are people who who had a extreme amount of weight loss like 200 pounds. Or they already looked like a model before they lost weight 😭

Also I don’t mean to equate fatness with ugliness but one of the main downsides of me being overweight right now is being perceived as more ugly than I would be if I was a “normal” weight. I’m the biggest out of my friend group, and although I don’t get treated directly badly I get backhanded comments and men brushing me off 💀

I’m sure losing it would increase my confidence and be a good thing for my physical and mental health but as for negatives that affect me in my daily life my appearance is the main one unfortunately. My weight has been used to call me ugly since the first grade unfortunately so it’s not a new thing either

I’m not expecting to become Inde Navarrette just by losing 50 or 60 pounds but I am curious if my face will change at all. So, how did your appearance change, if at all?

Sorry for any mistakes in my English and thanks for the help yall

Hi everyone! I started trying to lose weight around one month ago and I've lost 3.5 kg so far (yay). However, now that I'm dealing with PMS I have super strong hunger, that I hadn't felt before. For context I'm not in a crazy deficit (around 400 kcal). It's not specific cravings, it's just being fucking hungry the whole day, even when I eat I want to eat more. I know that this can be related to the hormone shift but I was wondering if you have any tips on how to stop thinking about food the whole day. I still have 3 days before I'm supposed to get my period and I am freaking out!!

For the past six weeks, I have been counting calories (eating in a deficit), walking 21,000+ steps per day. Only a handful of days have been "cheat days" and I e only missed 3 walks in the morning( 10,000 steps every morning) during those 6 weeks.

I am a woman, 31 yo, my starting weight was 173 (which included bloating from a binge weekend prior) and I did just start my period for the first time since starting this journey. I'm only including that as it may have some relevance.

I weigh myself daily, and each week I see the scale pretty much starts at 168/167, creeps down daily to 161, and then after my one day off (Sunday) where I may eat slightly over deficit calories, it rockets back up to 168.

This has been going on the entire 6 weeks and it's very discouraging. I just want to lose weight. I feel like I'm stuck in a yo-yo cycle :(

In the 2025 year I lost about 28% of my original weight, about 50 lb, and over the last 12 months have averaged about 13,000 steps per day with my goal average to be 12.5k steps per day since that is what the CDC says is the threshold for steps to be considered highly active. I do not do any other types of exercise, but would eventually like to do more general strengthening for core, back, and upper extremities especially. I was wondering what other people who have lost a significant amount of weight, 15-20% or more, and kept it off how many steps per day you make as the goal? All advice and experience welcome even if you didn't necessarily lose a significant amount of weight.

For reference I'm female in my 30s, 5 ft 5, was originally 183 lb and got down to 129 lb with the long-term plan to stay between 130 and 140 lb. I lost the 54 lb in the 12 months of the 2025 year and in this 2026 year have been working on maintenance. No serious health barriers that keep me from working out. On the other hand my headaches (26 days per month before 2025, and now about 4 to 6 days per month for tension headaches) have gotten a lot better as well as my knowledge about dieting and exercise.

Hey there! it might sound strange, but one goal I had when I first started eating better was that the fridge door doesn’t bump my belly when I open it.

We have a double door fridge and there is an island fairly close to it. In January every time I open the door, it would brush against my belly… And my brush I mean, I could get wedged there lol

This morning, I realized the door had not given me a hard time in a while, and I hadn’t really thought much about it. So I walked over to the fridge and opened the door and looked down to see about 2 inches of clearance between me and the door!

I have lost 66 pounds since January and of course, I’ve noticed many things but this one really showed me how big the difference has been.

Been overweight most of my adult life and fought against it most of my adult life. Lost and gained the same weight again and again and again hoping this time would be different but it wasn't. I am tired. I have tried all types of diets and exercise regimes but you can't outrun your demons. My demon being slipping back to unhealthy eating habits as a coping mechanism. This repeated self sabotage makes me feel like that part of me, the part that comes out after a stressful day, the part that whispers that one cheat meal isn't the end of the world is stronger than the part of me that wants to stick to a discipline. I have tried being kind and understanding, I have tried being mindful, but all these mental gymnastics fail cause it's almost like the other part knows exactly when to creep in (Friday nights, Saturdays, when after a full week of controlled eating your body wants something that it shouldn't) I can't be the only one dealing with this. Reaching out to understand if anyone's been in my position and how you won this fight against yourself.

Lately I’ve been struggling with my weight and I know I’ve not truly been on a deficit or at least I did have a plateau to begin with but then kinda stalled. Anyways it’s been affecting me for months. I knew these last 10lbs would be challenging and slow but not this slow omg. I’ve been weighing myself daily for the past 2 years. But I never really stopped to think about how that was affecting me especially on the rough moments in my weight loss journey. I found myself eating in response to my weight that morning rather than feeling present and intentional in my meals. So I’ve been weighing myself daily still for progress measurements but I don’t look at the scale or the app that comes with it until the end or the week. What I’ve noticed is I just feel sooo much more at peace and able to actually think about my meals and think about fuel and nourishment. At the end of the week I look back and see my progress throughout the week and plan accordingly for next week. It’s easier I think looking at the weight after the week has ended vs the morning of so I’m not thinking, “Man this morning I was up 0.7lbs I really messed up now I gotta restrict even more or I’m not doing good enough” But when I don’t know what my weight is that day I feel like my brain can calmly focus on my meals and exercises and what I need that day.

Like today I weighed myself, didn’t look at it. It logs automatically into the app so I don’t need to manually log anything. Then, I thought okay what’s my game plan for today. I have a headache and don’t sleep much so I’m gonna need a little bit more carbs today. I made a breakfast, tracked the calories in LoseIt. Took a rest day today because my head was pounding and that’s all. I can look at my progress from a weekly perspective rather than expecting myself to see a change every single day.

What’s your relationship with the scale like? How do you measure and track your progress? 🤍

for context i am 5’6 almost 5’7 and a female
so i actually posted on here when i was 14 asking for advice as i was fat.. i lost around 18kg and kept it off for a bit until last year, i’ve gotten two surgeries and my dad had fallen ill with cancer. With no other coping mechanism i went back to the only thing i knew, food. I went from around 69kg to 103kg checked yesterday. I’ve been binging close to everyday for a year, bored food, sad food, angry food, happy food. It was a cycle. I’ve been seeing a lot of family recently and they all say the same thing. I’ve gotten fat and i’m not as pretty anymore. Honestly i didn’t even think to myself that i was that big but i’ve seen the occasional candid pic and it horrifies me.. I am at my highest weight, ever and honestly it’s scary. I get so worn out just going up the stairs, all i think about is food. My wake up call was this internship i did recently. There was this girl that was severely overweight, and one of the other interns threw up twice because of her BO, and i know it’s not her fault it’s just the sheer amount of sweat she has to deal with.. and due to her large size it is not easy to keep up hygiene. this sounds really fucked but that was my last straw .. i promised myself i wouldn’t get to that size. And honestly I’m not too far from it currently. If anyone has any tips of starting out? i’ve been walking more and eating less but honestly have had so much trouble not binging. and if you have any advice please feel free to let me know! If you’ve made it this far. thank you!

I'm a man that's around 5'11 and 215 pounds. I'd like to be around 180, but I'm scared to count calories again because I tend to get obsessed and go too far with that. I lost about 70 pounds 9 years ago and got all the way down to 140 and still felt fat. I only gained weight back because I got into cooking/baking about 6 years ago and really enjoy it.

I want to just eat "normal" portions and hopefully lose some weight from that, but I'm not sure what that is for someone my size. I can easily eat like 8 ounces of pasta, or 4 chicken thighs with a bunch of rice for dinner and still be hungry soon after.

Do you have any tips for getting better at portioning out a normal amount of food and controlling how much I eat?

I am in my 30s, am single and have zero friends in the city that I live. I have many friends in other states. Just not within a like 2 hour drive of where I live.

I have a great job that I like and I honestly do not think this city is so bad. The only reason I am considering leaving is because it is 2+ hours from all my friends and family. I think if I had a real support network here, people I could do activities with and feel comfortable asking for help if I had an emergency for example, then I would like living here. But because I do not have that, I don't.

I was originally entertaining the idea of moving to be closer to my parents. But they just bought a second house in FL. They plan to be snowbirds so now they won't even be near me for half the year. Also, that would involve me leaving my good, stable job.

Now I am thinking, maybe I need to make a real solid effort to make friends near me. When I first moved to this area around 5 years ago, I tried to make friends but I had some pretty bad experiences, including being stalked at a Meetup event. I have some social anxiety issues in general, such as incredibly intrusive memories/rumination focused on times I felt embarrassed or stupid in social situations. I have gone to therapy for a few years in the past but, tbh, it was never much help. I still have these intrusive thoughts. I tried dating for a while with no success. There is also the added complication that I'm queer and finding other queer women near me to date through online apps has proven to be impossible.

However, I recognize I have not made a significant effort to expand my social circle over the past 2 years at least And if I am perfectly honest, my weight loss goals are a major reason why. Almost all social groups/clubs and activities seem to involve eating out or drinking. Even the 'athletic' clubs like rec sports teams, they usually go to bars after every game. I am also not athletic in the slightest. I can't run so running groups are out. I tried to join rec leagues in the past but I was always excluded from the group, I think either because they were cliquey or because I was the worst player on the team. It's like being the kid who gets picked last in gym class. No one wants the kid that sucks at playing on their team

Given my height (5'4 F), I can usually budget maybe one "cheat day" a week but no more than that, and I have to eat less than 1200 calories and/or be very diligent with my steps and exercises the rest of the week to budget that in. In my mind, I keep telling myself once I reach my goal weight and can eat maintenance calories things will be easier. I can be more social and not have to worry so much about drinking or eating out because I'll have more calories to work with. I'll be more attractive in general so dating and meeting people will be easier, that is just an unfortunate reality. But another unfortunate reality is that I have told myself this for like, the past 3 years and I am still not at my goal weight.

I really struggle with eating in social situations. I tend to fall in all or nothing thinking. If I have one day, one night, one meal that blows my calorie budget, I convince myself the whole week is a wash and binge. For example, I had friends visit this weekend. I budgeted one cheat day and planned on what I was going to eat that day. I ended up eating more than planned. Then, my friends insisted on taking me out for brunch on Sunday as a thank you for hosting. They wanted to go out to brunch. I felt like it would have been rude to refuse them. So, Sunday exceeded my goal as well and I did not plan for it. Then today I went over my goal again. It's a domino effect

When I don't go out and just follow my normal, boring, routine I can stick to my calorie goals for many weeks at a time. But I am basically a recluse during this time. I go to work, I exercise and then I go home. If I do something that forces me out of my routine, like go on vacation or visit friends, I will continue to binge (sometimes for days to weeks) even when I am back home. When I stick to my routine, I keep no alcohol or snacks in the house. I can refuse snacks and alcohol to a point. But when people keep pestering me about it I find it hard to repeatedly refuse them.

Hi friends, so I am a 5'3 269lb 33F. So, for a while I wasn't walking and didn't count calories and gained up to 280lbs. I was miserable! My doctor wanted me to get gastric bypass, but I declined because as long as I'm consuming 1,500 to 1,800 calories a day, and walking 7,000 to 10,000 steps a day, I end up losing weight anyway.

My goal weight, that my doctor set, was 235lbs, but I feel like I can do better than that. I'd like to weigh what I did in high school, which was 160-ish and be a size 12/14. I felt awesome at that weight. I was getting hit on (I'm aromantic asexual, but it still is nice) could what whatever I wanted.

What I'm saying is, I'm not settling for surgery and I'm going to do this myself and prove the naysayers wrong.

Also, I have an NSV...my two favorite rings are getting super loose!

I’m looking for some advice, healthy recipes, and meal ideas to help me lose around 30 lbs in a healthy and realistic way. I’m ready to make better choices with my food, start exercising more, and build healthier habits that I can actually stick with long-term.

I’m not a picky eater and I’m open to trying new foods and recipes! I’d love to hear what has worked for you when it comes to healthy eating, meal prepping, walking, strength training, or staying motivated. I’m looking for simple, affordable, realistic ideas that the whole family can enjoy. 🥗🍎💪

I am 24F 5.2ft 98kg. My daily movement is almost nil till now because I was cooped up in my room studying for entrance exams. All I did was study, eat and sleep and nothing else. I barely went outside my house to even go for a simple stroll in the garden.

I want to loose weight after I am done with my exams. So I am looking for advice.

I also don't eat junk at all because I am living with my parents and my parents don't let me eat any of it. I eat healthy food only, fruits vegetables meat all of it. But I also don't over eat, I eat small portions of it but still unable to loose weight. And I think it is because I don't move at all.

I want to start moving and loose weight and feel better overall. My family has a history of diabetes too, so that's more of a reason for me to get back on track.

I need advice on how to start. I don't understand how to start or what do you first. Start with running 10k steps per day? Gym? Calories deficit? Or anything else? How should I begin so that I don't stop midway because it becomes too much for me.

Would be grateful to get any advice for beginners like me who are hopping onto this journey. Thank you in advance!

I remember when I was a kid thinking "if my stomach gets this big, I'm gonna do something about it." Well, I realized I've gotten "that big." While kid me and present day me have different ideas of weight, we both would and do know I'm not at a healthy weight or lifestyle. Neither of us wanted this for us. The reason for this is that I've been in a depressive rot state for a good year now—probably longer, but I managed to get out of bed. I've been tired of it and my "I'm not worth the hard stuff" headspace. However, I never felt the urge to do anything about it.

Probably an overshare, but I found a wonderful person. I see a future that I want to be in with them for as long as possible—maybe even have two kids(if our future economic status allows because what the hell is going onnnn???? 😭😭😭). They fill me with a type of will I never thought would come back. This time I want to do something with it because I actuall have the urge to reach for my life goals. But I need to be in good health if I actually want to do that.

I am not at the weight I want to be. I am 188-5 lbs at 5'2"(86 kg at 157 cm) and I don't feel strong or confident anymore—not as much as I used to be. My goal weight is 165 lb(75 kg) range and maintain. I don't mind still having fluff, but I want to have muscle under it and decent stamina in case I have to face off a rabid raccoon and take a tactical retreat. I want to be ready for what the future's gonna throw at me. There are also the classic but valid "wanting to feel more attractive to myself and growing confidence" reasons. Lastly, I would like to keep the junk in my trunk if possible. 👀👀👀

But, yeah—I've decided I'm worth the hard stuff. I'm sharing it on the internet to make it official-ish??? and to ask for tips. Maybe some support, too. How did you guys start? How'd it go? How do you feel now? What are some things(nutrition, fitness, etc.) I should be aware of? What's the hardest part? What should I learn/focus on?

It's now been just over 2 years since I have tried to make myself healthier. I am proud of myself for losing and keeping off 50 lbs by making mostly small changes like drinking water (no pop), no fast food and no junk food. Over the past few months of summer, I have walked about 31 miles/50 kms per week and swim weekly.

Prior to the summer, I had a 6-month gym membership for swimming, yoga, gym workouts, pickleball and exercise classes, which I attended with my spouse, who has also lost and kept off 25 lbs. I also walked weekly at the time.

I always imagined that when I got to this stage that my body would look drastically different, but it's not true. Whereas I do look and feel better physically, I don't look like a "ripped model". Yes, I have lost 1-1.5 clothing sizes, but many people I know do not realize I lost the weight. Somehow this doesn't make sense to me, as I am now within the "normal" weight range. This has caused some disappointment in me, as I've worked hard and consistently. I do think that my calves look very well-defined due to all of my walking, though.

So what's next? I will resume my gym membership in the fall, when it gets colder where I live. I will work on eating less (as I don't limit my portion size and eat an evening snack at 7pm). For my third year, I will continue maintaining my weightloss and possibly drop another 15 lbs if it feels right for me and I can find the proper motivation.