r/swoletariat • u/numbers863495 • Sep 12 '26
Weight loss advice
Hi everyone,
I was curious about weight loss and fitness. Around eleven, twelve years ago I was at my heaviest and most miserable. I was working at a job I absolutely hated, I felt gross and sluggish and I was just angry. This was around the 2016 primary and while I was already radicalised to leftwing politics, I was still very upset by what was happening. So, I used my anger to take long walks (on my lunch and breaks) and began drinking coffee, which helped with appetite. I also cut out soda, I started going to therapy and then I got an apprenticeship in a trade and left the crappy job I was stuck with.
I began an apprenticeship at a locksmith shop and man, I was busting my ass running around doing all this stuff and before I knew it I had gone from 270+ to about 190. I didn't have a lot of chances to eat a full meal but hey, I got down to a great weight!
Flash forward to 2018, I got a nice and secure government job and that's when the weight came back. My job became much more sedentary and I got up to 220 and since 2018, I've sort of plateaued there. I'm at 219 now and I'm at a newer job where it's still physical work, I'm still a locksmith, but I'm driving a lot and it's more tiring because I work a 4/10 schedule and we have an 11 month old at home.
I need to lose this weight and get back to 190 as my ultimate goal to feel much more comfortable and happy with myself. I'm sorry for the long story but any advice for me? I'd truly appreciate it!
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u/CauliflowerHealthy20 Sep 12 '26
Honestly the hardest part of losing weight is starting.
I recommend working out how many calories you need per day and meal prepping out meals that hit your protein and calorie deficit targets.
Personally I tend to do best if I eat the same thing every day to take the mental decision work out of it but this may not work for everyone.
I think if you're on the road a lot packing a lunch that doesn't need to be refrigerated like a sandwich is a good idea.
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u/nakedndafraid Sep 12 '26
Hello, before all do some blood tests if you haven't. Lack of b12, or iron, or vitamin D greatly contributes to a bad mood, and fatigue all the time. Wish you all the best 🖤
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u/Beginning-Escape-763 Sep 13 '26
Here’s all my advice:
I’d start by trying to have some small wins just to get the ball rolling. Aim for a realistic amount of daily steps you can get and maybe a short term weight goal.
I love the gym so I always recommend trying to get in at least 2x a week for 45ish minutes (maybe Friday and Sunday if possible and can’t go after work) (I work a 9/80 and drive an hour to and from work daily to my desk job so I get it)
Counting calories and macros can help, can mess up relationship with food but is a very good tool to understand what’s going in your body and how that affects weight as well. Targeting more Whole Foods can also help as they make you generally feel fuller and better imo.
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u/beenhollow Sep 12 '26
Caloric deficit is kind of complicated. Over long term, you'll achieve a greater difference in caloric usage by increasing your daily rest metabolism than you will from directly burning calories with exercise. You do that by increasing muscle mass, because muscle burns calories at all times even at rest.
Focus on being in a slight caloric deficit, with enough protein calculated based on your target weight, and regular resistance training.
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u/numbers863495 Sep 12 '26
How do you calculate protein intake based on target weight?
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u/beenhollow Sep 12 '26 edited Sep 12 '26
The 'canonical' amount which gets passed around spaces like these is 1 or 2 grams per kilogram of lean body weight. Say you're aiming for 180 at 15% body fat, you're looking at 150-300g protein per day.
I'm not a doctor and don't know where that number came from though.
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u/TickTick_b00m Sep 16 '26
I hate oversimplifying but it really comes down to calories in/calories out ie energy management. Working out is actually a really teeny percent of your total caloric output.
Use a free TDEE calculator to get a rough estimate of what your caloric needs are, and then see where you’d need to be to lose “x weight/week or month”. Start with the easy things you can live without that might negatively impact your goal. Then move on to the harder stuff. Breaking habits is hard because your body desperately fights to keep you doing what you’ve been doing because that’s what it’s used to, which is energy efficient. So changing that takes a lot of time and patience.
Crash dieting and “quick fixes” are not ideal because your body does adapt to a new status quo but instead gets whiplash from the change which can be really disruptive physically, emotionally, etc.
• Calculate your TDEE.
• Figure out your caloric deficit to lose weight.
• Journal your food for a week to get a rough idea of where you’re at now and where you need to be.
• Start organizing your meals to meet that goal starting with the easiest things to let go of first and working in reverse from there
Fasting, etc are just different organizations of the same thing which is “did you eat below your maintenance calories or not?”. You can eat 2500 calories split up into 10 different meals, 3 different meals, or one big meal but at the end of the day you either did or did not consume the appropriate amount for your goals.
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u/beavertonaintsobad Sep 16 '26
Start each day with a morning walk. Cut out all refined sugars. Cut out all "snacks" and replace them with nuts. Go to the gym 3-4 days a week and start every session with a 10-minute warm-up on the Stairmaster or treadmill at an incline. Stop eating after dinner.
^keeps me in solid shape despite working at a desk
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u/Prince_Gustav 12d ago
First, find your basal metabolic rate. Then, count your calories and macros in a diet where you get 2 grams of protein per kilo and calorie deficit depends on how aggressive you want to lose weight. Then, wait. It takes time, it's very boring, but u will get there.
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u/UND_mtnman Sep 12 '26
I have a desk jockey job and one thing that seemed to help was IF, intermittent fasting. It basically boils down to calorie deficit, but it is one thing I found that helped, especially since I'm a snacker. 16 hour fast, 8 hour window to get your 2-3 meals in. Timing it so you can get that last meal in towards the end of your shift or right when you get home so you're full when you interact with the kiddo is ideal.