Afraid I'll never be able to lose weight

[MisterLove]

[...] Those of you who tried to lose weight - how soon did you see the first results? I'm just afraid I'm so fat I won't manage it.

Two words: intermittent fasting.

Look it up on the web.

I've always had weight problems too and this was a magical solution.

[Bowyn Aerrow]

I might add that losing weight may not be the right concept here.

If you are exercising (more) than before, chances are high you will build some lean muscle mass.

In essence, with a proper diet and exercise program, its very possible that you will 'convert' fats into muscle - well the weight at least. Fats and muscle are composed of different material.

A set of scales is a very, very bad indicator of over all fitness, and so too those damned BMI charts. The only true measurement that tells of fitness (in a way but not completely) is body fat percentage.

And the best way to measure that is the displacement method - were you are weighted on dry land, then put in a tank until you float and are weighed there. Since fat is lighter than water, and muscle and bone are heavier, the 'weight' you have while displacing water is going to indicate how much of your weight is actually fat.

Setting the goal to reach a certain 'weight' isn't indicative of anything other than your overall mass.

Arnold Schwarzenegger in his glory days, off season weighed as much as 260 pounds. the majority of that mass was bone and muscle. And his BMI placed him at obese, but we all know he was a body-builder and no wheres near obese.

I strongly suggest you refrain from switching diets or using a starvation diet method. I have read several articles through the years that sticking to a sensible diet will net the most results that last, especially if its a lifestyle change - meaning instead of being a temporary diet (like calories starving yourself) that is an over all change in what you eat (veg and fruit over carbs, candies and cakes).

[Festino]

You beat cancer, you can beat anything

[HumbleTangerine]

Around 2 years ago my weight was at 89kg, which was definitely over-weight given my height and muscle mass. Like Bowen pointed out, weight alone isn't a good indicator of obesity since muscles (that weigh more than fat) need to be part of the calculation.

In any case, I started dropping weight like crazy by eating too little and running too much. 4-5 months later I had reached a weight of around 63kg which was somewhat close to being unhealthy for my height. I had to gain some weight and muscle, reached 73kg, began dieting/exercising properly unlike before and dropped to 69 where I'm currently at. Because I was too eager to lose weight quickly I ended up wasting a lot of time before I could get the slim body I wanted.

Much like Swalter said, you need to lose weight in a slow, controlled manner. 1kg is approximately 7000 calories, so if you start living with a calorie deficit of 500 calories per day (which is the recommended amount) you'll lose 2kg per month. You can achieve this by eating healthier or exercising but preferrably a combination of the two. Measuring calories in everything you eat is really boring, but necessary, unless you trust your ability to make decent estimates on your own.

It's really easy to lose your motivation if you don't see any results. Most people don't really notice any results after weeks or even months of dieting/exercising but that doesn't mean their change is non-existant. Make a habit of getting yourself weighed and your stomach measured weekly, before breakfast. If you keep exercising/eating healthy you will begin to see results very quickly, perhaps not with the eye but with other means of measure.

I won't delve into more details now, but if you need more advice you can always PM me. Good luck with everything!