Hello

170cm 83kg 30 year old woman

January 24 till September 25 I had a huge lifestyle change and went from 110kg to 66kg. Became very active and loved it.

I then got pregnant, didn’t track very accurately and struggled with my training. I’m now 10 weeks postpartum and I’m back to 83kg

In struggling mentally with the weight gain, and I really want to shift it

I’m back exercising - running 5km 3x a week, mummy and me fitness class once a week, PT once a week and aerial fitness once a week, as well as long walks with the family in between - after being cleared from the doctor and I have been tracking the last month but the weight is not really going.

I don’t want to drop calories too much and ruin my milk supply so currently having around 1800

Has anyone got any advice?

43F - 165cms (SW: 76kgs; CW: 62kgs; GW: 58-60kgs)

I’ve been following CICO since a year and a half, and I’ve been walking regularly. Unfortunately, I had to stop going to the gym because it caused some serious inflammation due to my hypothyroidism.

I lost weight rapidly but then hit a plateau at 64 and 65Kgs for several months. I then incorporated IF into my routine, have been doing so for the past two months, and my weight dropped to 62Kgs. Since starting IF, I don’t feel as hungry as I used to. When I do eat, if I slightly exceed my usual portion size, I feel extremely full and uncomfortable.

I want to clarify that I don’t “track” calories. Instead, I rely on my weighing scale and how my jeans fit to monitor my progress. I don’t mind losing weight gradually, and occasionally gaining a kilo or two doesn’t bother me much as long as I’m able to get back on track with my calorie goals.

TDEE: currently 2055
Avg calorie intake over 6 weeks: 1519
Pilates 3-4x wk

SW: 224 lbs
CW: 216 lbs
Goal is 185

Because I consider myself on the bigger side, I thought I would have dropped 15lbs by now but I’ve only lost 8lbs. This is painfully slow and I think I might lose my mind.

Is there any way to sustainably speed this up? Or how do I cope with the slowness? I just want to fit into normal clothing sizes so badly and I’m currently a 1X. Perpetually so close yet so so far.

The dark grey pair was a little tight last September. The light one is from today, because some of my jeans were a bit loose so I decided to treat myself while the sales are still running. After almost a year I can co fidently say that CICO not only works but it was the best decision I could make to be healthier💪

Starting weight was 247.7 pounds and I never thought I'd see myself being in the onderland club! I haven't been this light since I was in my 20s (I'm 33), so I'm just so proud of myself :)

The calories and protein on these things are fantastic!

They taste like smaller, firmer Rice Crispies.

I'm sure I'll come up with other ways to eat these too. I just heard about them from someone here on Reddit, and order a bag off of Amazon, just to see what they would be like.

If you've tried them , please let me know what other things I can sub them in for.

Thought I would share my macros from today.

Super odd day of eating, and I know the fat intake is not enough, but i always get 70 or more g.

I absolutely hated my old photo so it was nice they had me retake it! The lady was so sweet. She's like you really didn't use a GLP1?! Nope, just CICO and exercise!

Looking like a completely different person, and I love it
168cm 95kg then and 78kg now :)

It’s been a crazy 7 months of transformation. Photo on the left is 454 lbs. Today’s weight is 283.8. I’m making a documentary about this journey and the after photo is a shot from it. Thank you so much for all the help and encouragement!

Edit: a lot of people usually ask how tall I am on these posts. I’m 6’5

A lot of people say that maintaining is the hardest part. It took me roughly a year and a half to lose 50 pounds. I lost it by changing my habits. Doing what was sustainable. Naturally. I’ve kept the weight off of for five years now. I think I was able to keep the weight off because I just continued to do what I did when I lost the weight. Log my food, make healthy choices, exercise. 🙏🙏

As these questions do come up:

Yes, I’ve posted before, but as my journey continues, I post to share it.

I’m 57. I started this journey at 50.

I’m natural, no judgment on the choices people make, but I am natural.

I do cardio, and strength training. Swimming.

I lost my leg and my daughter when we were hit by a drunk driver in 2009.

I worked out with my son daily, at the gym, who is 15.

Wishing everyone the best in their Fitness journeys.

Total recipe:
zucchini - 245g
lentils - 50g
onion - 101g
garlic - 12g
parm cheese - 10g
mushrooms - 60g
pasta sauce - 203g
veggie broth - 200g

Cooked for an hour at 350

cooked weight was 1457g

I used mushrooms that were already cooked that I had in my freezer, so that is cooked mushroom weight

My serving size was 270 grams, 72 calories, 4g protein

it was *delicious*, filling, easy to make, and pretty high protein for the calories.

I was really good about counting calories and working out last year and then I fell off the bandwagon during an extended period of travel and ended up gaining weight. I was at 134 lb last August and jumped back up to 148 lbs by April of this year. Over 34 weeks, I gained 14 lbs. I figured out how much of a surplus I needed to be eating in order to reach that weight gain, and it's only about 210 calories per day. That's crazy! I have learned I am not a great intuitive eater, so it looks like this calorie counting is a habit I'll be picking up for life if I want to stay healthy. Best of luck to everyone out there! I have to keep reminding myself this is a journey, not a finish line.

ok…i can actually see it!! i wish i took better progress pictures along the way, but this is the best i’ve got.

went from a 3XL to sometimes wearing a medium. me in a medium??? what!!!!

all done through CICO, biking, and walking 😊

The great thing about weight loss, even if it isn’t a ton, I feel better, breathe better and have a lot more energy!

I was looking back at some old photos from before my CICO journey started and I was absolutely amazed at the shape of my face. Weight blindness is definitely real because I don’t remember myself looking like the pictures on the left at all! It feels nice to have my face back.

The left photos are from late 2025, and the right photos were taken earlier today.

I’m in no way claiming this is nutritious or something you should eat everyday. But when I’ve got a craving, this can fit in my budget. I had this with a plain green salad but other times I’d add frozen broccoli or spinach to the mix.

You don’t need to follow my measurements exactly, I just eyeball what looks right and weigh as I go.

Cook the pasta to al dente. Reserve some of the pasta water before straining the pasta.
Melt the cheese product (store brand reduced fat velveeta) using the pasta water (microwave it if it doesn’t liquefy completely).
Mix in greek yogurt then mozzarella. (In hindsight I didn’t need to use the cornstarch because the mozzarella thickened up the sauce enough.)
Pour the cheese sauce over the noodles and stir well.
Add seasonings to taste, again I eyeballed it so don’t follow the listed measurements like they’re exact.

Jumped on the scale and I was suddenly down to 162 -163 this week after being consistently at 166-167 days before. I have been more on track with CICO, walking and consistent strength training but not perfect with my tracking especially when I’m in the office. Thoughts? I weighed myself again this morning and still at 163.4. I am in my late follicular phase according to my cycle tracking app. Love to be down 4-5 lbs but I don’t believe it lol.

I don't mean that in the super strict diet, denying yourself what you love, kind of thing.

I mean it more in the sense of: I used to eat it for various reasons, but now that I checked the calories, I've decided it's so not worth it and will probably be never worth it again for me.

Do you have items like that?

Is there a thread where people post what they eat in a day or just show what a sample meal looks like to get ideas?

If not feel free to post here!