LaconicBear

You could probably safely lose 1kg or 2 pounds as week, at least to begin with. This is the maximum safe amount of weight that it is recommended can be lost without the intervention of doctors and nutritionists. It is absolutely worth using a calorie calculator to determine your calorie requirements, I recommend the Precision Nutrition one (Google will bring it up). That being said, losing 1kg per week is not an easy process, you will feel hungry, you will need to carefully consider what you eat minimise muscle loss and if you make any big mistakes food wise, it will come back quickly. I think the main consideration here is that you're currently 120kg and whilst I don't know your height so I can't make an accurate guess, based on my own experiences this most likely means your BMI falls into the 'obese' or very overweight category. No offence intended, you might be 7 feet tall and mostly muscle. If this is the case, then losing some initial weight as quickly as possible is important to minimise potential health issues associated with it. You could always lose an initial amount, then adjust into a routine that allows for a more consistent but lower amount of weight loss.

Have you looked into Intermittent Fasting? It isn't for everyone and some women can encounter issues with it, but it really helps me with the same problem. I eat around 1700 calories a day, but I don't start eating until 11am and I only eat around 400 calories worth of fruit before I get home in the evening. I then have 1200 or so calories to eat in the evening around my workouts. I find that I would much rather be hungry in the daytime and look forward to a filling evening, than vice versa. I've also found that I'm as hungry at lunchtime and dinner time whether or not I eat breakfast which helps. Something else to consider would be water intake, sometimes dehydration can present as feeling hungry.

Cheat meals might be the wrong word for it so I'll try to explain. I'm currently on around 1750 calories per day as part of my efforts to lose 1kg a week. My eating pattern roughly follows intermittent fasting principles, in that I break my fast at about 11 with some fruit, and then eat the rest of my calories when I get home, around my workout. I find that whilst I can easily meet my target for the first few days, my ambient hunger levels increase consistently until I find myself breaking and having a terrible day or two of eating. Instead of having a cheat day, or meal where I just eat whatever I want, I'm considering instead allowing myself one day a week where I eat at maintenance calories, which is probably around 2600 calories on an active day. Would this have a positive effect, resetting my body a bit and allowing it to recover, or would it have a negative effect and cause my body to pack on as much as possible after a period of deprivation? Has anyone else had any experiences with this?

Good point about the fruit, I try to limit myself to an apple, orange and banana a day because they're lower in sugar than some others and I think the sugar in fruit is processed differently by the body than refined sugar? I hadn't considered the absence of fats in my diet at all, even though I don't deliberately avoid them. I consume quite a lot of semi skimmed milk in my porridge and protein shakes so maybe I can transition back to full fat milk for a boost. One of the problems I have is that I really dislike the taste of most healthy fat sources, especially avocados and nuts I'll have to work on that.

I normally allow myself the sugar in my porridge because aside from fruit and small amounts in sauces, I don't have any other sugar intake and porridge without it is very bland. I hadn't thought of butter as an alternative, but calorie wise, I think butter has even more than sugar.

Depending on where your physical fitness level is at strength wise, I would recommend beginning with bodyweight exercises. One of my instructors always says that if someone can't confidently handle their own body, they shouldn't be lifting large weights. Pushups, pullups, squats, lunges and planks are some of the best overall exercises. Check out the beginner's bodyweight workout guide on the Nerd Fitness website. Once you're comfortable with that, you could move on to a lifting programme like Stronglifts, or progress to more advanced versions of bodyweight exercises.

I've always previously tried to lose weight by counting calories with mixed results. Last spring I went down from 85 to 72 kilos in four months by rigidly calorie counting, but afterwards I quickly ballooned back up to my highest ever weight when my mental health problems intensified. Since then I've been going through an endless cycle of counting calories and hitting my targets for a couple of days, and then binge eating and undoing any progress. I've persisted for so long because I have this innate concern that if I'm not counting calories, I have no idea if I'm actually eating little enough to lose weight and I'm also impatient to lose weight as quickly as possible. That being said, I recognise that calorie counting isn't working for me, so I'm trying to combine intermittent fasting, mindful eating and improved food choices. My current meal plan looks like this: Fast from 6pm until 10am (Fasting in this time frame is really easy, I don't even get hungry until 10 most days) 10am - Whey protein shake with semi skimmed milk 11am - Porridge oats with semi skimmed milk, a chopped banana and a sprinkling of sugar. 2pm - Fruit - Normally an apple and 200g of grapes 5pm - Tomato and bean casserole with mixed frozen vegetables. (Essentially just a couple of onions, several tins of baked, butter and canneloni beans with various seasonings and things like Worcestershire sauce, stock cubes and tomato puree) I'm on day two and I have definitely noticed some changes in my relationship with food. For the last two meals I have eaten, I've actually recognised that I'm full and stopped eating, instead of powering ahead and mindlessly stuffing myself. I have a bad relationship with food and a long established habit of overeating as a way of coping with anxiety, so this is novel. My question to the forum is, have any of you had success losing weight without counting calories, what tips do you have, and were you able to get into low body fat percentages without counting calories? My overall goal is between 13 and 15% bodyfat, not shredded, but hopefully looking lean.

Don't worry about it too much, the important thing is making it work for you so you're more likely to stick with it. I typically eat between 10 and 6 because then I can have a brunch/lunch meal and then a normal dinner.

Nothing at all. I find that if I eat breakfast or skip it, I'm equally hungry at lunchtime so I incorporate it into my daily fasting pattern.

That's some impressive progress! Nothing feels better than suddenly realising how far you've come.

Definitely lifting heavy, but taking a more measured approach than before. I've previously dived into the gym, done lots of lifting without properly understanding the techniques and then burned out. This time I'm starting with bodyweight exercises and using the limited weights I have at home to begin developing my strength before I progress to using a gym.

I've joined these forums before and I've been reading Nerd Fitness since the very beginning. I've spent probably the last eight years attempting to lose weight and get stronger with varying results. Last year I got down to 74kg and then I had a rough year and ballooned up to my current 94kg. I'm beginning to realise that the longer I wait, the harder it is going to be and I can't stand the thought of one day realising how much time I wasted being unhealthy and unhappy about it. So this time I'm going to be smarter about it. I'm not going to obsess over getting six pack abs, I just want to have a stomach I don't need to hold in all day. I know I can gain strength and build muscle fairly easily, so I'll play to my strengths and focus on that. I've also volunteered for a charity event in seven months that will see my team doing a 10k run, 26 mile night walk, 50 mile cycle, 600m swim and a tractor pull in 24 hours. Mercifully I won't be doing all of those, but hopefully it will give me something to focus on when I'm feeling down. I've never had much luck using forums before, but the people here are inspiring and might give me the edge I need to do this.